Embrace the Chaos

Photo byMatt HighamonUnsplash

What’s your morning like? Do you rise at 4 before the rest of the family to do some inspirational reading and ease into the day? If you do then most people will envy you because a typical morning for most is absolute mayhem.

If you have children, morning means rising before them hoping you might have an advantage, but one child runs, (why do they never walk?) into the kitchen wearing last year’s Halloween costume and cannot understand why he cannot wear it to school. The next child arrives looking like a zombie because he snuck his tablet under the covers and played until 2 a.m. when the battery died. Your daughter arrives next looking pristine in a beautiful white pair of pants and an appropriate top. Just as you are sighing that one of your children has it all together, your husband lets the dog inside. The dog has been rolling in a mud puddle, and of course, he heads straight for your daughter, shakes sending brown water everywhere, and then jumps up on your daughter. The chaos erupts in your daughter’s screams, your son telling you why his costume is perfect and son number two curling up on the floor amid the muck.

How would you react to this situation? Would you show anger and start yelling at everyone? Would you cry, or would you laugh and embrace the chaos?

We cannot always choose what will happen to us, but we have a choice about how we will react. I have always told my children that when things go crazy, be the calm in the middle of the storm. Here is why I say that.

Don’t allow your emotions to rule you. If you react badly when things go wrong, you can’t think clearly, and you might not achieve a favorable outcome. Take a deep breath and solve each problem at a time.

You are always teaching your children. Your children are always watching you for clues on how to act. When you keep your cool under pressure you are showing them the right way to respond to difficult situations.

How you start your day impacts the rest of your day. If you can laugh at the situation and help your children figure out how to turn things around, you are teaching them how to problem solve.

Chaos situations make great stories, and they often involve the need to work together to solve the chaos. Make those memories even when they are a little messy.