“Am I a bad parent if I think my child’s annoying?” I asked my husband, half-joking half-not as I flipped the grilled cheese I was making my youngest for lunch.

I heard my daughter in the background loudly bothering my middle daughter.

"I mean, it's not great." My husband answered.

I shrugged my shoulders and felt a little guilty for my feelings.

Because a lot of the things she does are annoying, and I can't help but feel that way.

I think she’s annoying when she doesn’t listen to me.

I think she’s annoying when I need to go all the way upstairs to get her to stop screaming for “water, another hug, to lay with her for two minutes, ANYTHING” to avoid bedtime.

I think she’s annoying when she jumps on me when I’m not looking and smacks me in the face.

I think she’s annoying when she provokes fights with her sisters.

And the list goes on…

But it’s completely normal and human to find our kids annoying at times.

The constant whining and throwing fits about everything.

The frustration when they won’t try or listen.

The baby talk and hyper moments.

And they always want something more, more, MORE.

It's enough to want to pull out our hair at times.

And when we feel this way, it breaks our hearts because we love them SO much, a more-than-anything kind of love. They're our favorite people, but gosh, they can be annoying.

But, we’re not alone.

Every parent has a limit, and sometimes our kids cross it.

So, we shouldn’t feel like bad parents for those not-so-great feelings.

Because feeling like we're good parents when we have all good feelings about our children, and like we’re bad parents when we don't like their behavior or feel annoyed or disappointed in them, is not fair to ourselves.

All people can be annoying. And it’s not the feelings but how we respond to that “annoying” behavior that matters.

So, can we please take a moment to vent in solidarity on how gosh dang annoying our littles can be?

It’s okay to let those feelings out.

You’re still a good parent.