It's going to be okay, and we UNDERSTAND.

I was in church a few weeks ago, sitting next to another family with small children. The young mother of this family had her son on her lap, and he appeared to be about 3 or 4. He was being rowdy, talking loud, swinging around in her arms and trying to get down. If she let him down he would try to run off, so up again in her lap he went. This caused more noisy protests. She offered a book and this appeased him, but it was short lived and he was quickly back to trying to escape.

You could see the embarrassment on her face...the longing in her eyes that he would just behave. You could see her trying to listen, trying to get something out of the talk being given. You could almost hear her wondering if it was even worth it to come to church.
I understood completely because that is Kaiden every Sunday. The embarrassment is real. You think people expect your child to be quiet and sit perfectly still. And some do...but those are they who do not have children, do not interact with them EVER, and do not want any of their own.

Most people are understanding. They know a child is not meant to sit still and be quiet.
I wanted to tell her that. I wanted to tell her we understood, and that we were happy she was there.
Then he headbutted her right in her nose.
I saw her holding her face with her eyes shut, in obvious pain and dealing with the internal struggle to NOT get mad.
Seeing what he had just done, the child instantly felt remorseful and loudly began to say "Sowwy! Kiss it!" and aggressively tried to wrap his arms around her head and "kiss better" her now possibly broken nose.

He loved his mother, and he didn't mean to hurt her. At no point in the whole situation was he ever trying to misbehave. He was being a little boy who was bored and didn't want to be where he was.
Just like a child who falls to the ground in the grocery store because he's tired of walking and he can't eat any of the yummy food he sees. And the child who gives the appearance of being kidnapped as he kicks and screams because he doesn't want to get in the car to leave the park and go home.

Just like ALL of our children old enough to express personality have behaved at one point or another.

Do not worry about the crabby, immaculately dressed woman who makes the aside comment loud enough to hear that if she had children they would never behave that way. There's a reason she doesn't have them.

We understand. We've been there and we know.

You are doing the hardest, most important job in the world. Keep your chin up, because someday this will all be over, and you are going to look back and wonder where on earth the time went.

But for now, please know that you'll get through this and it is going to be OKAY :)