Are you “exhaust-erated”?

If you’re the parent of a toddler, then perhaps like me you find that the word “exhaustion” and its synonyms fail to express adequately the level of tiredness that you feel on a daily basis.  Similarly, if you face, as I do, the many challenges of parenting a two-year-old, “exasperated” doesn’t quite sum it up either.  

My dad (“Bopaw” for my daughter) came up with a new word to sum it up: “exhaust-erated.”  At the end of the day, your brain feels as if it’s been throttled in a martini shaker (and you’re probably hoping for a martini just about now).  Your body feels like it’s served as a trampoline for ten toddlers jacked up on too many servings of that yogurt with the monkey on the front (‘cause that’s all they’ll freakin’ eat!)  You hope you can cover up the bald patches where you tore your hair out (and personally I’m tired of mine looking like a bad imitation of Astroturf.  Is there a Guinness record holder for most consecutive bad hair days?)   You’re literally running a marathon, and your kid is your personal trainer every waking moment.

So yes, I’m feeling exhaust-erated right now.  But do our kids ever stop exhaust-erating us?  Never.  I’ve been exhaust-erating my parents for more years than I care to admit.  And come to think of it, my dad probably invented that word when I was two myself.  And now that I understand what he went through with me, I think he and my mom are the ones who deserve the martinis.