Punched in the eyeball with a Rubik’s Cube (regretting being playful)

I recently got punched in the EYEBALL with the corner of a Rubik’s cube.

It all started when I felt like I was CRUSHING it at being a mom, doing all of the following at once:

• Reading to my toddler on the couch (aka she was sitting on top of my chest and flipping the pages before I could read any of the words)

• Playing the “Jingle Game” with my 10yo stepdaughter, perched on the top of the couch - this is where we give each other random items and then make up a jingle together for them on the spot

• Incorporating my 4yo son into the game by having him run back and forth to us with different items to sing about

It was all going so well and just when I started feeling cocky like “Look at me, playing with all three of them at once, having such a great time…”

BAM - my toddler started to fall off the couch and I caught her with my ninja-mom-reflexes.

At the same exact moment, my son tripped over his own feet and crashed into me, accidentally punching my eyeball with the corner of the Rubik’s cub he was holding.

I screamed. It hurt so bad. I couldn’t open it for a while.

We debated about ER but after some time, it started to feel a little better and my vision was okay, so luckily it wasn’t as serious an injury as it initially felt.

I’m sharing this with you to be transparent about something:

In that moment, I resented being playful with them at the end of a long day.

I resented my husband who had just gotten home from work only to sit back down at his computer because something important had come up.

I even resented my son and his bull-in-a-china-shop ways.

And what I realized was under that resentment was that I had been pushing through with play when I truly needed a break.

I had already been out all day with the kids doing fun things and was spent.

I wasn’t resentful because we were playing.

I was resentful because I was trying to keep giving when I had nothing left to give.

If I hadn’t been pushing myself past my capacity, I think I would have just been in (immense) pain and frustrated, but I wouldn’t have felt that deep resentment. The resentment came from not honoring what I really needed.

(BTW, yes, Steve sprinted to my rescue and took over kid duty and tended to me!)

So, here’s my invitation for you this week:

1. Wear safety goggles around your kids

2. If your body and brain are screaming for a break, believe them. We do not have to be playful around the clock. Taking care of yourself isn’t the opposite of playful parenting. It’s what makes it sustainable.

Cheering you on always,

Mia 💞

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