Thursday, October 02, 2008

Having it all together...the myth.

Or "1-800-222-1222" (that's the phone number for California Poison Control, in case you ever need it).

Or "Juggling 101."

Or "Man, I'm tired."

I couldn't decide what to title this post. It's been a challenging week, and we've only left the house once (and that was the easy part!). Both girls are teething, they've been on opposite schedules sleep-wise (and I just don't believe in waking a sleeping baby to try to get them back on the same schedule), and Anthony hasn't been napping well. Makayla woke up 5 times the night before last, and Anthony's been waking up with nightmares.

Remember the fun blue slime I made for Anthony? Well...we had a fun playdate here yesterday, with LOTS of kiddos (seriously - 4 moms, 10 kids). When everything got cleaned up, unbeknownst to me, Anthony put his bag of slime, open, on a low shelf in the craft room. Later in the day, I left the room to fill up my cup of water in the kitchen and get my phone - and when I returned, darling Makayla was sitting in the midst of a pile of blue slime, with blue drool dripping from her chin. Yum!! A quick call to Poison Control (mind you - Anthony is 3.5 years old and I've NEVER had to call Poison Control before!!) reassured me that she would be fine and that I should just give her some water. In sharing the story with a friend, I learned that, according to Poison Control, your kiddo can also eat up to 10 adult-strength ibuprofen and still be okay. Hopefully I won't ever need that information, but all the same, good to know.

My friends say I inspire them. My friends say they don't know how I do what I do. My friends say I'm supermom. Know what? It's all a juggling act. See, some weeks, the housework gets done, and there's no time for crafting or playdates. And some weeks mom gets lots of craft time, and the kids spend too much time entertaining themselves. And some weeks, we go to lots of playdates, but no housework gets done. And some nights, dinner just doesn't get made, and Darrell goes back out after he gets home from work and gets take-out. And some weeks, I try to do it all, and then I'm dog-tired, and I yell at Anthony too much and I don't have enough patience with the babies, and I'm not very nice to my husband. And my brain doesn't work quite right, because I haven't been getting nearly enough sleep. Really, does that sound like the picture of someone who "has it all together???"

I, like every other mama out there, am doing the best that I can. Some days are better than others, and some days I'd like to have a "do over" button. But I'm okay with my imperfection, because I know that He is who greater than me is stronger when I am weaker. We're making memories and we're living life. This is a journey, and I'm not focusing on trying to achieve some unachievable end, but rather, I want to focus on enjoying the daily travels.

So, join me, won't you? Let go of the myth and the mommy guilt, and enjoy the imperfect journey.

4 comments:

.:Heather:. said...

Oh my goodness! What a week!

Mama Parker said...

Such an honest post! We do the best we can! Hope you have a good weekend!!

Allison said...

We are all imperfect! Isn't it good to have other mommy friends to be real with!!! Totally can relate to this post.

Ryder Royalty said...

perfectly said Jen! thanks for the encouragement too! :o)

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