Redefining MommyhoodJourney of a mom whose son is overcoming hypotonia

Today we went to a local fall festival. It was a beautiful day, maybe around 70 degrees. I was so excited to take Luke (& Daddy) to the festival. I don’t think I ever went to one as a kid and I was very excited for the hay ride and pumpkin patch.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I build things up in my mind way too much, then get let down when things don’t meet my expectations. Don’t get me wrong, the festival was nice, just not what I was picturing in my head. I guess I’ve seen one too many Norman Rockwell paintings in my life, which is funny, because Rockwell painted images from his mind, not his experience with real life.

The festival was very crowded with lots of activities for the older kids. We made a quick stop at the pumpkin patch for a photo opportunity only. People were completely oblivious that we were taking photos, so they felt the need to reach in where Luke was sitting and take a pumpkin. We got a few cute shots and decided to hit the hay ride on our way out.

The hay ride consisted of a tractor pulling a flat bed with bales of hay around the sides for people to sit on. I’m not so sure that they were secured to the trailer, but decided to go anyway. Luckily, one of the loading/unloading points was very close to where we had parked our car. Daddy decided he would run the stroller back to the car while Luke and I boarded the “wagon”. We told the guy that he would be right back, but he didn’t care, they started to pull away anyway. I yelled to the guy running it “he was coming too!!”. He just looked at me and said “oh, he can meet you on the other side”. Whatever……I called Daddy on his cell and told him he was on his own. To make things worse, we got to the other stopping point and everyone but Luke and I got off. A new group of people got on and were mad that I didn’t get off. I had to explain to them that we had boarded on the other end where our car was. Come on people, the ride is free for God’s sake, it’s not like I’m trying to get away with something here!! Then, an 8 year old boy who weighed about 200 pounds stepped on my foot (I was wearing sandals!).

Needless to say, by the time we finally got back around to where Daddy had been abandoned, I was ready to leave. I felt so awful, because I was looking forward to spending a fun day with the family. I don’t think Luke knew that I was so disappointed because he seemed to have a good time and that is all that really matters.

There was one amusing highlight to the afternoon. I saw a mom walking around who had the Kate Gosselin hairstyle!! All I could think to myself was “are you for real??”.

What can I do to relax, not get let down, or let other people bother me? This is something I have been working very hard on for the last few years. Some days I slip back into my Debbie Downer alter ego though.