Some days you live in a blissful surrounding of precious little cherubs, whose angelic voices make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Then, there are some days, if you hear, “Mom,” in any sort of form, one more time, you may consider taking up Olympic wine guzzling—if that were a thing of course—and it would be like a vacation to get lost in the dishes. Some days flow so smoothly: tasks are easy to check off the list, the kids simultaneously take a long nap, allowing for some quiet time, you meal plan and grocery shopping is a breeze, dinner is prepared and ready upon your Hubby arriving home from work, the kids all get along and even get their homework done all on their own. Sounds like a dream day in the life of a mom. #killingit. Then, there are days—if we are being honest—that make Jurassic Park seem more manageable: the alarm doesn’t go off, the kids are late for school, you run out of coffee, the kids can’t seem to stop picking on each other, the baby is teething and doing anything but napping to allow you a break, you have nothing in the fridge, you haven’t showered all day, you are pretty sure your family isn’t eating dinner because, well, who’s going to cook it and at 7pm, your child decides to tell you that their 10 page book report is due tomorrow and they haven’t even gotten the book. #igiveup.
This life of Moming is hard. The most appropriate meme, or quote, or what ever genius mind came up with the saying, “My mind is like my internet browser. I have 19 tabs open, 3 are frozen, and I have no idea where the music is coming from,” nailed it. Welcome to the life of a mom. But Friend, let me tell you this, if no one has told you today, or if you, more importantly, haven’t told yourself today, YOU ARE INCREDIBLE! You are selfless, patient, and all sorts of amazing. Give yourself grace. I mean, most people can’t even keep a plant alive and here you are managing to raise a village and they are all still happy and breathing!
Don’t short change yourself because everything wasn’t executed perfectly, or your kids didn’t have broccoli this week, or you forgot about picture day. Let. It. Go. Stop allowing the one or two things you didn’t get right, define your entire identity as a mom and start praising yourself for all the countless things you do, effortlessly, day in and day out. Start seeing yourself as those precious little babes do; to them, you hang the moon and the stars and there is no one like you. Did you hear me? No one like you. You are irreplaceable. You are the one who does it right. You are the standard by which every child will hold things up to, just by being you! I promise they won’t remember the Pinterest perfect 3rd birthday party, but they will remember that radiant smile and prideful voice when they learn something new or master a skill, the countless snuggles or bedtime stories. You, my dear, have them in the palm of your hand, just by loving them as you are. So, tomorrow, when you run out of milk, since you planned cereal for breakfast, remember you are only teaching them that a life of perfection is impossible, but a life full of joy and grace is one to strive for.
