Pick Your Battles

After spending three solid days cooped up in the house with my daughter, my patience was pretty worn. The ice storm that hit on Friday basically kept us from leaving our home Friday afternoon until mid-morning Monday. That is an extremely long period of time to spend in company of just one person. But, I truly believe that she is the only person on Earth that I could have done that with and not have flipped out. We had a great time together. We watched Disney movies and reruns of all of her favorite shows, we played with Barbies, and even had a swimsuit fashion show (with her as the only model). But, when Sunday night finally came and it was time for bed....the party was over.

Sleeping in her own bed has always been a problem for my girl. She is allowed to sleep with me on weekends, but weeknights she has to sleep in her own room. But after almost 72 hours straight without even being in a separate room than me, going to sleep alone was not on her list of things to do. Needless to say, it was a battle. For over an hour, she would play opossum, then "wake up" crying and whining. Honestly, my patience was worn thin, and I just needed a minute to take a shower. So....I caved! I know, I know, I need to "stick to my guns" but I was just completely out of energy and it wasn't worth the battle. I let her watch TV while I took a shower, then let her sleep with me. She was snoozing in two minutes flat.

There are days when I just need my space without her hooked to be like a leach, but last night was not worth it. You have to weigh the consequences of launching into a battle of wills with a five-year-old. Do I stay up half the night trying to get her to sleep alone, lose all of the time I had hoped to spend getting ready for work, and end up showering at midnight, just to prove the point that she needs to do what I say? Or do I let her sleep with me, go to sleep early enough to get rested for school, take my shower early, but still lose the time I needed to prepare for work? I have never been good at being the bad guy when it comes to things like this. Even when she was a baby, I could never just let her "cry it out" and that is probably why she is like she is now about sleep. But, if that is the worst thing I have done is a parent, it is not too bad, right?

This time my decision to chose my battles wisely absolutely worked out. We ended up with a three hour delay today! I got to cuddle with my baby girl before school this morning, and wake up to her trying to sing "Soft Kitty" to her stuffed pink kitten. I think about how quickly these five years have passed, and I wonder: Will she remember me as the strict mother who made her stick to the rules every night, or as the mom who would loosen up and break the rules sometimes? I hope it is the rule breaker mom, because I know I will remember my snuggle bug and her morning time giggles more vividly than all the nights I got to sleep alone. Tata for now!