Small acts

There are some days with parenting that leave you feeling unqualified, isolated and judged.  Today was one of those.  The day consisted of trying to herd a bolting toddler in the dentist's busy waiting room; making futile attempts to intercept limitless tantrums, and unsuccessfully trying to convince a toddler that taking a nap is not a form of tortuous punishment (seriously, I wish someone would tell me to go to sleep in the middle of the day with no hidden agenda!)
I took Rowan to the park after visiting the dentist as he was a bit apprehensive during his appointment.  I'm  not sure if I was looking particularly dejected, but another mum just struck up a conversation with me whilst we pushed our respective sons on the swings.  It was only idle small talk but somehow it rallied me for the rest of the day.  When Rowan later slid right off the slide and heavily onto his bottom (it was raining and the slide was very wet), and I was feeling guilty about not having the foresight to have prevented it, the same mum casually said that she was surprised how slippery the slide was and the same thing would have happened to her.

When you have days where you feel you don't know what you're doing, and it seems everyone else is finding it breeze, it is reassuring and encouraging when someone takes the time to support you.  Sometimes all it takes is a chat about the weather with a stranger to bolster self-belief.