The Dreaded Blood Test (2-Minute Mommy Peptalk)

The Dreaded Blood Test (2-Minute Mommy Peptalk)

The potential superpower in every JewishMOM’s arsenal: a positive attitude.

I have a daughter who faints when gets blood taken.
But she had a routine blood test she had to do. And for weeks, she was dreading it.
But this morning was the big morning. But she did it!
And after she ate and drank and rested, she told me, “That was actually OK.”
“Really?!” I said.
“Yes. I just told myself over and over: ‘Blood tests are nice. Blood tests are nice.” And I convinced myself it’s true!”
After that blood test, my daughter and I went to the supermarket.
At this specific supermarket there is a cashier who is always grouchy and snapping at me and the other customers.
But today, there was a different cashier there. And she had the most beautiful smile. A smile like she was about to take a selfie of herself and her husband in front of the Eiffel Tower.
And I wanted to ask her, “Why are so happy? Do you love being a cashier here THAT much?”
But I realized, like my daughter said, that so much comes down the messages we tell ourselves about the lives we’re living and what’s happening right now.
One cashier tells herself “I hate this job!” and another tells herself, “I love this job, I meet nice people, it’s close to home, and I’m done work in time to pick up my baby at 2 PM.”
And as a mother, what messages do I tell myself?
Do I focus on how hard, how challenging, how unpleasant this whole mothering, homemaking thing is?
Or do I focus on how blessed I am to be a mother?
Today, on the way to the blood test, we stopped by a bakery right next to our old home. And that bakery brought back so many sweet memories. The cupcake I bought this daughter after her interview for high school. The sufganiot my kids chose out every night of Chanukah before candlelighting. The mini pizzas I would buy for my kids on the way back home with them from errands.
Maybe the key to a happier life is feeling nostalgia, not only 10 years from now, but now, as well.

3 comments

  1. Ooh you hit the nail on the head! Yes!! I tell myself all day, “this is so hard, I hate this. Sooo challenging! I can’t wait til they’re older!”
    From today on, G-d willing, I hope to start switching.

  2. Awww, this is so sweet. Love it :). Reminds me of that song “you’re gonna miss this” that you posted.
    Gotta work on my inner dialogue in the moments of stress…
    Shep tons of nachas from your mature daughter!

Leave a Reply

RSS
Follow by Email
Instagram