I am just like every other mom out there. I juggle kids, life, a household, church, problems, social media, and more. I wander through Pinterest ideas longing to be the mom in my social media feed who has perfect pictures of serene setting of her kids in a sun-filled spotless kitchen enjoying home baked cookies and tempera paint masterpieces. I search for recipes worthy of Gordon Ramsey’s approval that can be whipped up from frozen meat and random pantry items. I dream of perfect summers filled with kid-approved engaging activities and perfect vacations where all the pictures have smiles and laughter captured repeatedly.
My reality leaves me longing. No, actually it leaves me exhausted! There are the mounds of laundry and growing piles of dishes demanding attention. There are the children crying out in boredom who don’t want to clean their toys up but don’t want to play with them. I find myself wanting to simply binge watch a PG13+ miniseries on streaming video instead of watching one more episode of Pinkalicious.
I wander through the day pondering all the things I need to do, all the things I want to do, all the things I would rather do, and all the things I will actually do.
I have always been a planner. My brain is always going on to some new project or task, often before it is finished with the previous thought process. I feel there is some truth to “controlled chaos”. I love to plan out what we will eat for the week so I can shop accordingly. I enjoy planning the details of a trip so we maximize our joy, time, and resources. I find great pleasure in planning out how to make my family and friends happy.
Then I get out of bed…I am always the first one up. I take the ten minutes of solitude to “uncross my eyes”. Soon after, I am greeted by my Good Morning Crew, who are always ready to eat. Some days I feel like I have hit the lottery when I prepare exactly what everyone wants to eat in those wee hours of daylight. Most days it is really all about compromise.
Soon after that, the day must begin. The time I spent the night before planning everything out may or may not work. It is truly like herding cats some days. (We recently had this experience first hand when a stray kitten was abandoned on our driveway. Cats are NOT herding animals anymore than children are!) I always hear the woman from Mockingjay always call out to me, “May the odds forever be in your favor today!”