I was talking to a friend the other night and she said, “you have a lot of responsibilities. ?I don’t know how you do it.” ?I laughed a little … because I don’t.
#confessiontime
It’s a Thursday morning at 10:44 am and I’m sitting at the coffee shop typing this. ?Alone. ?You see, for the last 18 months or so, I’ve had a babysitter sitter come in at least twice a month to give me a morning to do whatever. ?Right now I’m having a sweet?young lady come once a week so I can pay bills, blog, run errands, etc…without kids. ?This is a luxury. ?I know it’s a luxury.
I’ve had a cleaning lady at times.
Even though I’m homeschooling Jackson, we typically only school 4 days a week.
We eat pizza once a week.
My kids eat PB & J for lunch AT LEAST?3 times a week.
My husband gives the kids a bath every night and that’s my downtime to go for a walk or do the dishes (those are far ends of the spectrum in terms of enjoyment).
When my husband travels, I’ve been known to feed my kids drive-thru Wendy’s and mac n cheese for DAYS.
I’m not doing it all.
All of us mothers?are in different boats, too … financially… the role of our extended family…or even the time our husband is home v. at work (or single moms HOW DO YOU DO THIS?). ? When I start looking around I start thinking I’m not doing enough and that’s when the mom guilt and the stress builds.
For instance: ?I know a friend that watches cartoons with her kids and I AM JEALOUS OF HER. ?When my kids are in front of the TV, I can’t sit still. I’m like a little child?hyped up on?Red #5 KoolAid. ?But I want to take the moments with my kids. I want to look them in the eyes more instead of being Miss Productivity.
I want to do my computer work before they wake and after they go to bed so they don’t see me tied to it.
I want to spend less time griping at them when the day isn’t going as planned and it’s 2:30 and we haven’t even started school.
I want to not be doing the dishes at 8:40 pm (can I get an AMEN?)
I’m not looking to cut-throat motherhood, I’m looking to do-your-best-and-live-to-tell-about-it motherhood.
So do what works for your family. ?Hire a cleaning lady if you need to. ?Take time to rest if you can. ?You don’t have to do it all, you just have to do something.
Keep looking forward, mama. ?No time for looking around– unless you’re looking into those big eyes of your little ones. 🙂