cosmic comeuppance

You know how I said, a few posts below this one, how much I love being a mother and how much I enjoy my children's company?

Well, the universe has a sense of humor, because tonight my children were absolute hellions -- the worst they've been as a group in many, many months.

My eldest acted as unpleasant and nasty and teenager-y as he ever has in his life, and my youngest sobbed for one hour straight because he couldn't find a certain green plastic lego. It was bizarre. It just got worse and worse no matter what I said or did until I had to go out on the back porch and pratice some meditative deep breathing for a few minutes to prevent me from totally losing it and jumping out the window or something.

I think they were all really tired -- and Elliot may actually be catching something, his behavior was so wacky and random -- because when I made them all lie down with me, they all conked out within five minutes. Looking at them now, all cute and snuggled up in their beds, it's hard to believe they were so wired and unpleasant only an hour ago, but they were...

At times like this I realize it is very unlikely I will ever live with another adult again -- at least until my children are all grown up. I'm not sure I ever want to re-marry anyway, but even if I did, it's hard for me to imagine that anyone would want to deal with the REALLY hard work of helping to parent three children who are not their own. I mean, on nights like this, I'd leave the house if I could, and heck, I adore these kids.