A Lesson From My 3 Year Old

So my wife is pregnant with our 3rd little baby! We already have two little girls and they're rocking my world. I never dreamed I would do so many pony tails...even the little "bam bam" ones on my 15 month old! Anyhow, my wife was battling some morning sickness this evening, so I thought I'd try to put both the girls down by myself.

Well, I got their teeth brushed, their milk ready and their dolls in hand. I started with the youngest and asked my 3 year old to stay out in the living room with mommy. She laid on the couch with mommy and I was off to the nursery with the little one. The kiddos sleep in different rooms, but we keep all the clothes in the nursery.

So I finished with little girl and came to get big girl from mommy. I started to put her pajamas on and quickly realized that the pajama bottoms were left in the nursery. Well, if you have little ones, you pretty much know the shrieking that you are in for if you return the room before they have fallen asleep. But I had a plan...

I left her top on and remembered there was a pair of green bottoms in the laundry room. So, I grabbed them, got her dressed, said our prayers, and then put her down for the night...fast forward 10 minutes.

I hear crying from her room along with my name thrown in a few times. Not a usual happenstance, so I thought I should check on her. I walk in and she's standing up, right in front of the door looking up at me. I say, "what's the deal?" She looks down in great disappointment and then looks back at me and says... "Papi, my pajamas don't match." She was heartbroken...

This is not uncommon for my daughter...she is a creature of habit and there are certain things that must be in place for her to go to bed. They are small things, but oh so necessary. So it got me thinking...

How do we respond when things aren't ideal...when our pajamas don't match? Do we stand there crying and whining because our world has been interrupted? Are we immobilized until things return to "normal?" Am I really any different than my 3 year old?