When my friends with toddlers talk to me about their miserable 3 year olds, I feel their pain. Three was right about the age when, in my head, I started calling my kids names like, ‘little a-hole’. But when I stepped back and looked at what was really going on, it was frustration. There were all of these things I was expecting them to do on their own, but when they'd climb up on the counter to get a cup, I'd flip out. They would look at me like, Well, make up your mind woman? Do you want me to do things by myself or not?

Some days, corona has me feeling as frustrated as a 3 year old. On one hand, I have all of these life skills that inform me as to how to lead a peaceful existence, but on the other hand, there are all of these things I’m not allowed to do. Maybe I can look to my toddler friends for some help with how to manage the stress.

Baby fat: Check....been working on that one for seven weeks
Take naps: Hmmm, definitely haven’t done enough napping
Go to bed early: Genius
Lots of praise for little achievements: Brilliant. Be proud of getting dressed by myself, using a fork, putting away my toys, etc.
Find joy in little things: Good reminder
Feel your emotions: Ah-ha
Show affection without being prompted: Love that
Scream and hit people: (I’m just saying….)

I wrote about thriving in last week's post Observe and Adapt. Toddlers remind me that I have to redefine thriving during corona. Because this time can be incredibly frustrating, I can absolutely to go back to basics. Getting dressed, resting, connecting with others, sorting objects by shape and color—are all the new thriving. And while I'm at it, I think I'll consider screaming and hitting things thriving as well—I'm just feeling my emotions after all.

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