Bunny is naturally happy and forgiving. She rolls with things, she laughs at things, she patiently waits her turn. For the past week she has been a screaming banshee. Every waking moment her misery was transparent. High fever Sun-Tues, followed by a rash through Friday. She completely melted down if she was awake and not being held. Really brain-burningly awful from Sunday afternoon all the way through until this morning (the following Sunday).
This morning she woke up and suddenly she was back. We heard her laugh. She was willing to eat food. I was so excited I just wanted to hang out with her and soak up the pleasantness again, to let it wash over me and cleanse all the exhaustion and resentment that was starting to build up after a really, horribly long week. Instead, I packed my family up and toted them to stake conference, where in the last 20 minutes I got her to fall asleep in my arms.
So while I let my other 3 children run rampant and continue disrupting the poor people sitting around us, (sigh - Stake conference and hard chairs in the gym), I mostly sat and watched her content little peaceful visage. She is growing up so fast and is navigating life with 3 brothers so well. I view her calming influence on the rest of us as a gift, something she just came with. I have missed it fiercely this past week. So much of parenting is what your kids bring to the table, and it's so much easier to be a decent parent when they bring contentment, joy, and patience. Granted, that doesn't stretch or teach the parent very much, so that tends not to be the consistent offering from kids. But I'm going to take it while it's available!
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