So, I have a three year-old. Yeah, you know where I’m going. The lack of listening is driving my husband and me batty! From picking up toys to going to sleep, everything is a struggle these days. We consistently take toys away and do the whole time out thing, but the fact that we have to is exhausting.
This is all normal three year-old stuff. Nothing crazy. He’s just trying to figure out life, rules, and where he fits in, I get it. But I would say this phase is harder for me than any other. Sleep deprivation didn’t hit me this hard.
I wish I could say this phase is going to end soon, but I don’t think it will. I mean, at nearly 40 I still have to figure out life, rules, and where I fit in. Although, I’d like to believe I’m more emotionally stable than a toddler.
I find it interesting that we go through nearly two decades of formal education and we come out knowing our times tables, but knowing nothing about how to navigate our emotional, spiritual world. That’s why many of us falter for the first decade or two on our own. We just don’t know ourselves.
I read a quote by an anonymous person that summarized this perfectly:
The most difficult phase of your life is not when no one understands you; it’s when you don’t understand yourself.
For years I looked for external validation. It didn’t work. Nothing stuck until I gave in and had the courage to be honest with myself and everyone around me. Now that I think about it, I bet my soul felt just as frustrated with my lack of listening as we do with our three-year old. I bet she too was screaming, “UGH! Why won’t you listen to me! I’m telling you everything you need to know and you won’t listen!”
WOW! I didn’t expect that revelation to pop up, but there you have it. Excitingly, we’ve gotten to the other side. I get it now. I’m not perfect, but I get it. I suspect the same will happen with our little button pusher too.
I wonder what the next phase is.
