A Gift for Mom! 🤍

I’m Even Grateful For the Tantrums

2 Minute Read

By Shaina Sweeney

toddler throwing a tantrum on the floor — Marina Dyakonova/Shutterstock.com

At first, when you would scream and cry I would dread every second of it. I would pray for you to stop, for just five minutes of peace and quiet, and do whatever I could to try to change your mood. Hearing you scream would stress me out, overwhelm me, and make me think I am doing something wrong. “God, please stop,” would be my constant thought.

But now . . . I even savor these tantrums.

I have learned this is part of you growing and expressing yourself. This is how you communicate with me. This is part of you being my little baby. One day you will outgrow this stage and your tantrums will be very different. You will want to be alone in your room, have a major attitude, and just not want your parents around you.

But right now, this is a reminder that you are still my baby, so I will savor these tantrums.

Some people may never get to experience their little ones having tantrums.

Some may not be able to have little ones of their own.

Some may lose their little ones before their lives even get started. Some may have little ones who physically cannot do everything you can.

These families may never experience tantrums and would probably give anything to have just one.

So, for right now, I will even savor these tantrums.

You are a piece of me. I am watching you grow and learn every day. So please forgive when you get mad or upset, scream and cry and I just watch with a little smile on my face while trying to comfort you.

Because right now, I will savor these tantrums.

You may also like:

Let Me Love You a Little More, Before You’re Not Little Anymore – 5 Ways to Cherish Your Child Right Now

The Secret No One Told Me About the Toddler Years is How Much I Could Absolutely Love Them

I’m Just a Toddler and I’m Still Learning

Two-Year-Olds Aren’t Terrible, They’re Just Trying to Understand Life

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Shaina Sweeney

Hello everyone! My name is Shaina Sweeney. I am a very proud mommy to a beautful baby girl and adorbale pup, and let's not forget, proud wife to an incredible husband! I just want to share my experiences becoming a new mom so anyone who stumbles upon this will know, they are not alone! Motherhood is truly a blessing.

The Pressure to Do Everything “Right” Is Crushing Us

In: Motherhood

Tired and stressed mother sits in hallway with toddler across from her, black and white image

I don’t remember when motherhood started to feel like a test I didn’t study for—but somehow, I’m always convinced I’m failing it. It’s in the quiet moments. Standing in the grocery store aisle, overthinking every label—organic, non-GMO, dye-free, free-range, grass-fed—like I’m one bad decision away from ruining their future…while also trying not to take out a second mortgage just to afford my ever-rising grocery bill. Sitting on the couch, wondering if the show they’re watching or game they’re playing is rotting their brain. Lying in bed at night, replaying the way I handled a meltdown, picking apart every word I...

Keep Reading

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Nothing really prepares you for the day your child leaves the house. Last September, my husband and I moved our 18-year-old son into his dorm room. Right after that, he was swept away into all things orientation, and we began our 1,000-mile journey back home. Leaving this beautiful human I raised and spent all those years with felt foreign. During our final hug goodbye, despite trying to hold in my pain, I broke out in huge, ugly, guttural tears. Our drive home was a long two days. It took every fiber of my being not to turn around. Returning to...

Keep Reading

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Every year, millions of American families send their children off to their freshman year of college. Their pictures dot our social media feeds. Images of excited students holding collegiate pennants, maybe wearing a hat or holding up their school’s hand sign with beaming smiles. Their parents post excited words about futures and hopes and dreams. One chapter closing. Another opening. A new beginning. So why am I struggling so much? Why does this feel more like a loss than a gain? Why are my tears always on edge, threatening to spill over each time I think about August and what...

Keep Reading

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

In: Faith, Motherhood

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.” – Rabindranath Tagore Quietly communing with a loved one in the early morning hours is such an intimate and precious time. Visiting with one’s grown child when all is dark and still is one of life’s purest pleasures. I remember the conversation clearly. My daughter’s husband, small children, and father were all asleep as we whispered and chatted. She and I are both fidgeters by nature, unable to be still for long. This inner restlessness must be remedied, and we are compelled by biology to...

Keep Reading

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

In: Kids, Motherhood

In most homes, the marks on the wall are a simple celebration of time passing. They are pencil lines that track how many inches a child has gained since their last birthday. But in our home, those marks represent a much deeper, more complex story. When your child lives with multiple hormone deficiencies, growth is never just “natural”—it is a carefully managed medical achievement. However, as any medical mom knows, the story doesn’t end at the top of the head. It begins deep inside, with a tiny gland that isn’t sending the right signals. Having multiple hormone deficiencies is often...

Keep Reading

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

In: Living, Motherhood

Hannah Harper American Idol winner sings with her young son on her lap

By now, you’ve probably seen the posts flooding your feed: A young mom. Three little boys. A guitar strap embroidered with her children’s drawings. And a crown. When Hannah Harper won American Idol this week, moms everywhere erupted. And honestly? Same. There is something collective about watching a stay-at-home mom win on such a large stage. The celebrations have been pouring in. Moms, we can do it. She didn’t abandon her dreams. She went for it. And all of that is true, and all of that is worth celebrating. But I want to add something to the celebration. Not to...

Keep Reading

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

“I love you, Mom.” “Hmmm?” (A little louder) “I love you.” “I love you too…so very much.” I’d been deep in thought, listening to the lyrics we were slowly dancing to. I knew this moment of ours was supposed to be the time to say all the things, but this boy and I had already said all the things, so the song the deejay played—written by Lori McKenna and sung by Tim McGraw—enchanted our ears: When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride but Always stay humble...

Keep Reading

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

In: Grief, Loss, Motherhood

Editor’s note: This post discusses child loss Child loss changes Mother’s Day. My 19-month-old, Julia, died suddenly on Mother’s Day in 2024. Three months later, her autopsy revealed she had B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL, also known as SUDNIC). Julia died a week after we did an embryo transfer at an IVF clinic in an attempt to have a second child. We found out three days after Julia’s death that the embryo did not make it either. Six months later, we did another embryo transfer that succeeded, and I now have an 8-month-old daughter, Lucy Mei (“Mei Mei” means “little...

Keep Reading

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

In: Motherhood

Woman arranging bouquet of pink flowers on table

If you give a mom a bouquet… She goes to grab a vase to put it in. As she grabs the vase, she also grabs the duster because she knows the spot for the vase is probably dusty and she has guests coming for dinner. As she begins dusting, she notices the stack of books that needs to go back on the shelf. When she gets to the shelf, she sees the bendy action figures in battle formation that need to go back in the bin. When she gets to the bin, she spots the toy food that needs to...

Keep Reading

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

In: Motherhood

It’s Friday night at 8:00. The intermittent snoring of an 80-pound lap dog is the only thing slicing through the silence of my home. It feels empty, and there is a stillness in the air. I have nowhere to be; there is nobody waiting to be picked up. I’m staring at the empty takeout boxes from dinner sitting on the coffee table. There was no need to cook a big meal; it was just the two of us, my husband and me, sitting together wistfully in this liminal space of parenting. It is the quiet place between an empty nest...

Keep Reading

I Chose You Before I Met You

Child

I Chose You Before I Met You

Miscarriage: One Year Later

Baby

I’m Even Grateful For the Tantrums

But right now, this is a reminder that you are still my baby, so I will savor these tantrums.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Shaina Sweeney

The Pressure to Do Everything “Right” Is Crushing Us

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

I’m Even Grateful For the Tantrums

But right now, this is a reminder that you are still my baby, so I will savor these tantrums.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

The Pressure to Do Everything “Right” Is Crushing Us

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like