All of us know that everything is possible - if something unplanned comes out of nowhere we always find a way to squeeze it in. No matter how tired, busy, overwhelmed or however we feel.
This is the power of being a mom.
Let see what we are capable of juggling all together, every day.
Get up, get ready, get your kids ready, get breakfast ready, put the dishes in the dishwasher, clean the kitchen, have time with the kids, figure out how to keep them busy and entertained, what’s for lunch, dinner, play with them, go shopping or make a shopping list, laundry, keep the house clean, keep stuff in order, decide what color to paint the walls, walk the dog, time for the other half and I have to stop. You keep going.
Even I did not realize until I started writing down how much we do. And to be honest, I do not know how we can keep up with everything. But we do. And we do an amazing job, every time and all the time. And I want you to know that we are different but we are all amazing in our own way. And no one should question it.
And on the top of the 24/7 house and family care, most of us have to work. And we do this as well. And we are successful.
After so many years of being a mom, I realized few things:
First - Mom comes as a package!
Mom is never tired, she will always get up and get me water because I am tired.
Dad comes from work tired and Mom will not ask him for help because she is not tired and she can do it by herself.
Mom will play with me even if her back hurts.
Mom will not sleep the whole night because I am sick and the next day she will complete her “to do list” - she can handle one sleepless night.
When she wants to take a nap, I will want her to read me a book. And she will.
When she goes to bed and wants to rest I will go and snuggle. And she is not tired anymore.
When she plans something for herself all of a sudden something more important comes up and she has to change her plans - she will, because they are not a priority.
The second thing is:
Mom's’ plans most of the time revolve around kids, family and house.
She wants everyone to be comfortable, happy and healthy.
Her needs and wishes are always for later, not now.
And if she happens to steal some “me time“ it is so short and so rare and she feels guilty that she is stealing time away from her kids and the family.
(That is how I felt when my kids were little and my husband and I wanted to go out.)
Wrong!
Yes, the kids cry but soon they stop. And we worry the whole time while away from them.
But later in life when the kids go out, do they worry for us? And we let them go because we want them to have fun and be happy. Now let’s reverse this scenario - we need our time to have fun and be happy also. How come it is important for them but not for us?
It is like keeping them at home and not letting them go out and meet with friends or going to classes or sports, or just taking away any kids time and making them take care for the house, meals and do chores. It’s not fare, correct? But how it is fare when it comes down to us?
If they need variety, fun time, me time, learning time, active time we want to be sure we make it happen - why isn’t it a priority for us to have all of this for ourselves? How are we different?
We are just Moms but we can not forget we are human beings like our kids, husband, friends, parents. And we have the same needs like everyone else.
Now is the most important thing.
I realized later in my married life that what makes everyone who loves you happy is not only what you do for them - they want to see you as a happy, active, full of energy and healthy Mom.
And the only way to give them this joy is to take care of ourselves and to not forget that we are as important as all the people we love. And we must love ourselves.