Over the past few days, I've encountered three different news items related to anger in moms.  I am a big believer that when something happens in threes, there is a lesson to be learned and shared.  

It started with a radio segment on Dr. James Dobson's, "Focus on the Family" featuring author Julie Ann Barnhill, talking about her book, "She's Gonna Blow! Real Help for Moms Dealing with Anger."  Over two days she shared her experience as a mom of three dealing with the surprising emotion of anger.  She shared personal stories of "losing it" with her kids and how she came to terms with her feelings and actions.

It continued with a daily devotional that talked about how to manage anger and that anger is often the result of insecurity.

Finally, today I saw an article about a MOPS conference in Colorado later this month that will launch a national movement  called "No Mom is Alone" to ensure that women have support and resources to deal with the many changes they face as moms.

I admit, I had my own meltdown moment when my daughter was a tiny infant.  I distinctly remember the day I was home on maternity leave alone with my newborn daughter who simply would not stop crying.  I did everything I knew to do and still she would not rest.  I was exhausted and at my wits end.  I held her scrunched up little face right into my own and screamed at her, "Will you please stop crying now before mommy does something to make you shut up?"  

The shock of my loud voice startled her into silence for a moment and then the cries came back even louder, echoed by my own cries of fear and regret at the emotion I had never felt before.  In those few moments I went from complete love to complete hate and back again.  Fortunately, I didn't do anything to harm my daughter, but I can totally see how a mom could make that mistake.  I resolved then and there to stop and count to 10 before I reacted to my daughter. And I also resolved to ask for help from others when I knew I was not in a place physically or emotionally to deal with her needs.

Truth is, no woman comes wired to be a mom.  It is a learning experience filled with a full range of emotions swimming in a full sea of hormones.  We fear sharing our insecurities and anxieties less society judge us as weak or incompetent.  Fortnately, thanks to women like Julie Ann Barnhill and organizations like MOPS, women don't have to suffer in shame and silence anymore.  We can and should admit our weaknesses to each other and encourage one another without judging.

Have you ever felt so angry with your child that you said or did something you later regretted?  What advice do you have for women who experience those feelings?