Rough Mornings | Do You Have a Jungle Princess?

Oh hello 6:30am… is it time to wake up, because I could’ve sworn I just closed my eyes barely before my head hitting the pillow.

But no, it has to be time to get up, because I hear Kennedy pounding on her door, yelling “MAAAMMMAA!!” Opening the door, I am greeted by the newest fashion trend Kennedy is flaunting… full on nudity, convinced she must take off her own diaper behind the door every morning. And it is definitely morning, because the sun is up from its sleep as well and the monkeys, yes monkeys, are howling and grunting high above our heads. Yes… it is definitely morning in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica for this Jungle Princess and her mama.

But unlike normal mornings, coffee in hand and cartoons on the TV, we don’t have time today to adjust to the new day before heading to school. No, today we must finish the cake for Kennedy’s class party, which means running out to town before 8am. Hurry, hurry, hurry, we have to get out the door my little love.

Hardly. My beautiful child, who can rock an easy disposition like no ones business is having none of it today. Incessant whining every time I put her down, needing to be held, then yelling NO! as if to say “HOW DARE YOU PICK ME UP!” This tiny little maniac is sending signals all over the place and all the whining is already fine tuning my must-get-coffee-now-headache. God bless my soul, even her rare moments of happiness induced singing are driving me crazy this morning. Pushing through the fits and trying my damnedest to keep calm, I turn her attention to getting dressed because today, I remind her, is a party at school! My efforts seem not to be in vain but she quickly remembers she has recently mastered her colors- thank God because I swear I thought she was color blind. However, Hell hath no fury like a toddler that knows her colors. “GGGWWEEEENNNN PANNNTSSSS!!!” Dear God, please Krysta… find the green pants, I beg of myself. And as if taunting me, I peer through her bedroom window to see her green pants hanging on the line, dripping wet from last night’s (and the night before that and the night before that and, well you get it…) rain. Well that sucks.

I try to steer her attention to a “yellow-green” shirt, to no avail. Thankfully, after another bout of fits and crying, she decides red is ok to wear and like a gift given from God himself, there are a pair of red pants sitting as a sacrifice atop the pile. Remember to say an extra thank you later, I remind myself.

Fast forwarding through more huffs and puffs, the wanting the banana then not wanting the banana, NEEDING to wear her blue shoes (what do I care if it doesn’t match and we can get it done without tears), and again with the needing to be held… carried actually to the car. It feels like I’m rounding third, on my way to home plate, just a quick stop at the store and we are at school… I can practically smell the coffee percolating in my kitchen.

BUT NO, duh. The mental prepping I had done last night is all awash. The candy I had envisioned on the cake is out of stock and the other candies aren’t going to cut it. Think fast, move on Krysta. At this point, Kennedy has already stared wide eyed at the candy display, holding onto the promise she could have “only one.” With the time restraint and lack of suitable candy, I make what I know to be an unwise move and leave the store, sans candy. Insert waterworks —->> here. More like fireworks with tears, as she screams and thrashes all the way to the car. A local surfer I pass says “you look nervous,” and though I think the term got lost in a language translation, I know what he means and blurt out “I JUST NEED TO FINISH A CAKE!!!”

I run to the only other store open at this hour and settle on rainbow sprinkles… no not Jimmies to all my South Jersey friends… these are the tiny little ball sprinkles. It is lack luster but it will have to suffice. Kennedy at this point has refocused her energies and compromises on a juice. Easy. Buy it and run to the car, open the sprinkles and again my Murphy’s Law of a morning continues. SPRINKLES EVERYWHERE. EVERYWHERE. Clean up all the sprinkles and I drop the freaking cap on the ground almost under the car. I seriously don’t have time for this and I can feel my blood rising into my face. WOOOSSAAHHH, Krysta, you’re so close to home, the ball’s in mid field, you will DEFINITELY make it to home plate.

Throw the kid back in the car, head to school, hand over the cake… I am relinquished of that responsibility now… and give kisses goodbye. Halleujah, I slide around the plate, barely sweeping my fingers on the base, close but enough for the home run… I am free. Free for the next 4 hours. Well actually 2.5 because I have work meetings, but still free to go get some coffee, decompress and renew my patience.

Not every single morning is rainbows and sunshine people. Most days are great. But some days I want to rip my hair out. Today was one of them. This too shall pass. And at noon, I will gladly go to the school, scoop my big/ little girl into my arms, ask her how her day was and kiss her until I turn blue in the face. It’s about breathing, accepting the bad moments, embracing the good and pushing forward to the new.

And it helps to remember that children are really just tiny, little, crazy midgets whose sole purpose is to make you go bat s*%t crazy… but they do it with love. : ) True story.