Parental Comic Relief

These past couple of weeks have been very irritating for my family. One would think that the end of the school year would be less stressful and demanding than the beginning, but that was not the case for us this year. One would also think that a break into the warm weather and some vitamin D absorption would lighten the mood. No such luck. I just feel sometimes like I am provoked from every aspect of my life.

I was almost to my breaking point one evening until I read/listened to a post on Facebook from a childhood friend of mine. It just so happened this post has been the most impactful post I had ever bothered to click on. It was the new sensational book, "GO the F**k To Sleep", read by Samuel L. Jackson.

If you are a parent and have not listened to this yet, you must. If you are not a parent and have not heard it, you must. Some may call it crude. I call it genius!

I have never met Adam Mansbach(author),but one read has me thinking he is one of the most honest parents alive! The book makes fun of and mocks many of our bedtime routines with our children and expresses what most of us are truly thinking during those moments!

The illustrations mimic that of a "typical" bedtime picture book. There are cutie-pie babies, sleeping animals, and distraught parents. The words? The words could not be more true! Each page starts with a calm, lulled description and then ends with at least one F-BOMB! Sounds a little bit familiar.

I couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't stop telling people about it either. Turns out, I was not the first person to hear about it. I also had the pleasure of listening to it the first time read by Mr. Jackson, who did it certain justice! I can still imagine him reciting it.

Now I realize that enjoying this to the extent that I did makes me seem somewhat crude and unrefined, but the simple THOUGHT of it made me smile. It makes me smile that there are real parents out there who at least THINK the same thing I have on more than one occasion. It makes me smile that celebrities can appreciate it too. It makes them seem more real and connected....not so untouchable. It makes me smile that even moms on the prestigious Upper East Side are talking about and appreciating its humor.....and not just me.

The though of this book was my sanity this week. When my son dressed up like a clown for a school play and a parent commented TO MY FACE that it was "finally fitting to his character", I thought of it. When my 4 year old threw a whopper of a temper tantrum in public, I thought of it. When I was late to lunch with a friend because I was cleaning up from an explosive diaper, I thought of it.

This book is exactly what some of us need to get us through a day. Once in a while, we need that peace of mind that we get from adult comic relief. This honest genius of an author gave us the laughs and F-Bombs we need to think of when we can't(or shouldn't) use them ourselves. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Now I need to go the f*@k to sleep!