Is it just me?

I am only slightly embarrassed to admit, I enjoy the suffering of other moms. Wait, let me explain. I often wonder if I'm a good mother, and lately, is Maddie a good child? What with the temper tantrums, sassiness, furrowed brow...I really don't know if her rotten behavior is normal. None of my friends have kids her age so I have no real basis for comparison. And then...

Going for the candles I tell her constantly not to touch! Clever...she moved her chair close to the table so she could reach them.

I'm at the grocery store and I see a friend I haven't seen in a while with her similarly-aged daughter (I, on the other hand am kid-free..whoo-hoo!). Before I noticed mom, baby is running in the aisle, something unidentifiable all over her face. I see mom, exasperated trying to get her items on the belt while monitoring afore-mentioned wild child. I just smile....I have sooo been there. I then notice she's a friend. We exchange the usual pleasantries then proceed to compare notes on our "challenging" little ones. She advises me they have opened several food items, she's whined for a balloon, she and her husband can barely take her anywhere...and I am oddly happy. I have sympathy of course, but I am so happy this is all just normal.

This was mid temper-tantrum, throwing herself over her chair in dramatic fashion...

I actually started to refuse to bring Maddie in public for a short while because it was such a mortifying experience. I like to think I'm strict-ish, meaning I don't tolerate tantrums, sassiness without some repercussion. However, it seems to just not work. In reading some literature recently, I understand the science behind it. They get angry/frustrated, cortisol levels rise causing elevated blood pressure and heart rate, and they have a "me" mentality and are too immature to reason with. But I also believe kids just have a certain personality...they seem to be born with it. If she is a "difficult" child, well, Lord knows she gets it honest. I can be quite willful and sassy myself. Ugh...why couldn't she just get daddy's laid-back attitude?


The point is, there are some inherent personality traits, however at least some of this will pass. So, grocery-store-mommy...there is hope. Life will return to some semblance of normalcy and no, we are absolutely not alone.