mama said there would be days like these.

There is a blood-wrenching scream coming from the other room. I know that scream. The girls are at it again. My youngest is in my oldest daughters bedroom getting to something she shouldn’t and the oldest isn’t having any of that!

It seems all these two do these days is torment each other. And my girls are only 2 and 7 years old. If they are not picking on each other, they are throwing some sort of fit, whining about something not being fair or giving me attitude. These two are trying my patience and I feel I am on the express train to crazy town.

I have a picture on my desk at work of my youngest in her first days of life in the hospital. She is lovingly cradled in my oldest daughters arms; she was so proud to be a big sister. Those first days at home, she was the ultimate little helper. She was so over-protective of her baby sister, attending to her every need, wanting to help mommy. Those days are long since a fond memory and the lovingness that they once shared has turned to selfishness and hatefulness toward one another. At least that is how it seems most days.

There is no doubt that I am not alone in my feelings. Every mom has had “days like these”. There are days of never-ending whining that wear me down. There are days of unrelenting fights. Days where I feel like a referee caught in the middle of a hockey fight. If only I had a penalty box to put the girls in.

 “This too shall pass.”

This is actually an old Jewish fable about King Soloman and a ring engraved with the above inscription. But it has great meaning.

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven….A time to cry and a time to laugh…A time to embrace and a time to turn away…”  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NLT

Nothing in time stays consistent. Our lives are ever changing with different stages. I only pray that this time shall pass soon…very soon. As hard as it is to believe, one day I will miss this. The house will be quiet, with no bickering, screaming, whining or crying. And I will wonder what to do next. Until that day, what’s a hair-pulling mother to do?

Breathe. Then repeat after me. “This shall pass.” Ride out the moment. Then separate the kids and have a cup of coffee.