I'm in a bad mood!

I woke up in a bad mood! I'm just irritated today, with no real cause. It happens to the best of us. So, what does a homeschool mom do when she finds herself grumpy? 

I don't want to take it out on Tuna. She's done nothing remotely wrong. So, I don't know what other homeschool moms do (we just don't talk about the bad stuff enough, you know? and when we do, it's laughingly. we should talk about this stuff), but here's what I did:

1. I sat at my desk, drinking overly-sweetened coffee, and puttered around on Pinterest (here is my Pinterest page, by the way. I think it's pretty great.) while Tuna played her bells upstairs. Until I asked her not to. Because the ting!ting!ting! was grating on my nerves. 
2. So, I asked her if she wanted breakfast. She asked what she could have, and I told her anything at all that she wanted in the kitchen. 
3. She wanted to bake cookies. I don't want to bake cookies, I thought to myself. But, wait. She's old enough to handle a cookie mix on her own!
4. I gave her simple instructions: use the microwave to soften your butter, don't forget the timer) and went back to Pinterest. I needed some time, some time alone, to feel better.
5. She set about the task of baking cookies and called me over when her whisk was full of cookie dough (why a whisk? she thought it's the tool she needed, as she's never done this before). I helped her mash up her cookie dough, and she took over from there. 
6. Ten minutes later, she presented me with gingerbread cookies, which I devoured happily. 
7. Next, she watched a movie while I still needed some alone-ish time. She was all of fifteen feet away from me, but the different engagements helped. Again, it's not Tuna, it's me. But I find when I'm cranky that working quietly alone helps. 

And that's where we are now. I'm writing, she's watching a movie. I'm hoping this mood blows over soon. I'm deep breathing, about to go soak in a tub for a while, and I'm sure I'll feel better. 

The bottom line is this: Every mom has bad days. Heck, I remember my teachers having bad days. Out came the board games, the rolling television, the indoor recess, the other teachers monitoring us while our teacher stepped out. It happens. And life goes on. And no one's education is compromised. 

So if you're cranky, go soak in a bubble bath! Pop in Home Alone for the fifteenth time this month and just unwind. There's always tomorrow. 

And for the love of sanity, share your bad days with your fellow homeschoolers, so they don't all feel isolated, alone, and bad for being cranky sometimes.