7 Ways To Turn Around A Grumpy Morning
Big love to our first ever guest blogger Christina Kolb from agentlemother.com.
I consider myself a morning person. I’d rather wake up early than stay up late. Given enough coffee, I could easily be bright eyed and bushy tailed by 6:30.
Most days. But some days… are just rough right from the beginning. Either I, or one of the kids, or all of us, wake up on the wrong side of the bed and it snowballs from there. I can usually tell within a few minutes of waking up if it’s going to be one of those days. And we all know, once you start on that trajectory, it can be a disaster of one thing after another. So I’ve developed a few “tricks” for getting the grumps out of our house when we’re on the verge of meltdowns all around. Try a few, try 'em all, watch your day get better. (Or not. Some days just are rough. That’s why there’s wine.)
1. Open the window blinds! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been feeling gloomy and realized that I hadn’t opened the windows yet! A little bit of natural light, even on a cloudy day, does wonders for your mood.
2. Turn on some music. Breakfast used to be particularly challenging for us and I kept finding myself frustrated and on the brink of losing it before 7 am. One day, I turned on some light, fun music and it was an instant game changer. The kids sing, hum, and dance along, and it does wonders for me, too. The key is finding something you all like. I love my Elizabeth Mitchell Pandora station for non-annoying kids favorites. We also all really love Reggae and it puts us in a great mood.
3. Diffuse some essential oils. Something bright and citrusy, like lemon, sweet orange, or bergamot are particularly happy-making. But pick what you like and roll with it.
4. Get outside. There are days that I’ve had to force my children on a walk with me. They kicked, screamed, acted like they would melt in a lake of lava if they were forced to step foot out of doors. And then, well shocker, after some exercise and fresh air, we all come back much happier. Even if the weather isn’t great, it’s worth it to get outside, if only so everyone isn’t on top of each other.
5. Drink a glass of water. Or 8. Dehydration is real, people, and it’s a real downer. So often when I’m feeling jittery or just worn out, I later realize I wasn’t drinking enough water. True story.
6. Keep it simple. Sometimes, I have the temptation when we start off not so great to really “redeem” the day with some kind of fun outing or Crafty McCrafterson art project. Sometimes it works and everyone is happy. Most of the time it doesn’t and we crash and burn in the middle of Chipotle. Lesson learned: when everyone’s out of sorts, stick to what you know is going to soothe frayed nerves and keep everyone off each other’s backs…whatever that looks like for you. For us, it’s reading books, nature walks, and yes, sometimes, many many episodes of Super Why.
7. Pray. Or meditate. Do some yoga. Read your favorite poem. Whatever fills up your cup. When you’re taking even just a few moments for yourself, it’s amazing the trickle down effect it can have on the whole family. Cuz when momma ain’t grumpy… ain’t nobody grumpy! Or something like that.
What do you do to beat the grumps? Tell us in the comments below!
About Christina Kolb, at agentlemother.com
“Gentle woman, quiet light, morning star, so strong and bright, gentle Mother, peaceful dove, teach us wisdom; teach us love.”
Working towards that, but failing, learning, and trying again. Trying to become that “gentle mother” through lots of laughter, tears, smiles, silliness, and prayer. And lots of coffee. So much coffee.
If you’re interested in writing a guest blog for Fox and Trove, email hello@foxandtrove.com for more information.
I love these ideas, thanks!