When Mommy is a Grumpy Monkey

Ok, first. Isn’t that monkey picture the cutest? It doesn’t really have much to do with this post, but I mean, come on! It’s just too adorable to not include it. And secretly I have always wanted to own a monkey. So there’s that.

In other news . . . . 

My brother and sister-in-law gave my boy the book Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang for Christmas, and already we’ve read it like a gazillion times.

But it hasn’t gotten old yet. 

Everyone loves it.

It’s a story about Jim Panzee, a monkey, who wakes up one morning completely grumpy.

He meets a series of friends throughout the story who try to help him get out of his grumpiness, but nothing works.

**Spoiler alert!** (You know you’re a mom if you feel the need to give a spoiler alert on a children’s book.)

By the end of the story a sweet exchange happens between Jim and his friend Norman who asks Jim if he is still grumpy. 

Jim’s response is the best part of the story. 

“I’ll probably feel better soon enough. . . . For now I just need to be grumpy.” 

Some days are just bad days. 

Some weeks are bad weeks.

And sometimes the bad goes on for years.

Look. I know that my thoughts create my feelings, and I know that I can change my grumpiness any time I want to by changing those thoughts.

But sometimes, I just need to be grumpy.

And that’s ok. 

It’s ok to feel the grumpy emotion without resistance and let it pass. 

It’s ok to feel sad, mad, hurt, and afraid. 

It’s ok to feel what you need to feel and let it go.

You’ll feel better soon enough.

Originally Published 1/28/20