taming the toddler within

everyday i am surrounded by toddlers.  surrounded.  the whining, the impulsiveness, the impatience, the insecurity, the self-centredness & oh, the temper tantrums.  toddlers everywhere.  i see them driving cars around the city, working out at the gym, buying groceries at loblaws and worst of all i find a toddler in me.

after spending so much time as of late in the toddler world, i feel as though i have become a bit of an expert on the hallmarks of toddlerdum. mood swings, separation anxiety & fits of rage are par for the course when raising a toddler... or three in my case. after being eyeballs deep in toddlerhood, i am beginning to see that i am not that different from them.  i am constantly correcting my kids for behaviour i inadvertently demonstrate for them.  oh yes.  the annoyed mumbling when the line is too long, the "need" to always be by my husband's side, the grasping for control to prove i'm powerful, the meltdowns when i haven't had my nap, the impulse to complain all the time, the explosion of anger when things don't go my way... all remnants from my toddler years.  the only problem is i don't have those cute little pigtails to smooth things over anymore.

although temper tantrums & whining are carefully masked in socially acceptable form, they are a temptation that i all to often indulge in.  do not be fooled. just because we no longer fit in jolly jumpers & eat everything we find on the floor does not make us immune to the plight of toddlerdum.  we were always meant grow up.  to mature. to engage in an ongoing process.  and so i am a little surprised to find myself still seemingly at the start of that journey, that quest for maturity.  but the good news is all it takes is a really good timeout to address a lot of those issues.  and in true toddler fashion, it is rarely cured in one timeout.  it is in not only continual self-reflection but Christ-reflection, by resting your head on the Father's shoulder that growth is spurred.  self is transformed by unconditional love. insecurity melts away when i am sure of who i am.  whining brought into perspective by the One who sees it all. rage calmed where the One who is Peace resides. i will outgrow toddlerhood... one timeout at a time.