Maybe it's just me, but I am sensing a new trend in blogs, books, society that moms are finally being able to say "This is hard!!" That they are able to embrace the season they are in with all it's difficulties & acknowledge that in isn't for the faint of heart. Now when I say "new" trend give me some grace, because it is totally possible that moms have been saying that for years. I am typically a few steps behind. Just ask my friends. I didn't even know jeggings were a thing until they had already been a thing for about a year.
I spent years of my life not being mindful. About anything. Truly. How else do you end up a 36- year-old woman with 5 tattoos that have no meaning at all. I wish there was some back ground or deep significance to them as people always seem a bit disappointed when I simply shrug.
As I am trying to be more mindful especially in my parenting I am wondering if this trend to admit parenting is difficult & has really hard moments might sometimes go a little too far? Don't get me wrong there is nothing more I need some days than to list off all of the reasons it has been a tough day & to have a friend say " I get it. It is so hard." I just wonder for myself does it matter that it's hard? This is my calling to be a mama & it is also a choice I have made. Otherwise my husband & I would still be living with our bad-selves eating out & sleeping in.
When I experience the witching hour (for us it is that time right before dinner) & I am fussing & fuming around the kitchen, because my tiny people are all up in my grill asking " what 's for dinner? Is it the chicken I like? I don't like chicken after all!" (all accompanied with some whining & foot stomping) do I give my family the feeling that they are a nuisance to me? Through my sighs & exasperated answers? Because making dinner can sometimes be trying at our house do I give the impression that I don't care if they eat a healthy or yummy dinner that I just want to get this task over with & move on to the next obligation?
Does it matter how many hours of sleep I didn't get? Doesn't keeping track & sharing it kind of just make me more tired? Does saying I am overwhelmed actually do anything to help me figure out what to do first? Or does saying it just give me permission to feel like I am at a loss before I have even began? I am trying to figure this out, because sometimes when I am preparing dinner & the hungry tiny people come at me I think to myself 'I can't handle this' and in my attempt to be mindful of my thoughts I am wondering why? Why can't I handle this? I am their mom. If anyone can handle this it's me. Give them a slice of cheese & a distraction & get on with it. Put some music on & turn the kitchen into Funky town. Prep dinner ahead when they are having their rest time to make it easier on all of us when we all turn into hungry monsters. For me it seems the longer I dwell on or talk about how my day with my kids was so exhausting or trying or maddening that those thoughts & feelings linger longer than they ought to.
I once read that you can't feel two emotions at the same time. That we are totally incapable of it. And the author suggested replacing thoughts of frustration with thoughts of gratitude. Even if you don't feel it just to throw up a "I'm so thankful my kids can communicate with me & tell me what they need" even if it is right when I am in the middle of slicing & dicing veggies for dinner that may or may not get eaten all while having a screaming 2-year-old hanging on to my leg. Maybe it is just tricking yourself into a different mentality, but I wonder if it matters? As we are caring for & molding & nurturing these tiny little people so much depends on our thoughts & words. We as moms seem to be the thermostat for the house. Everyone else's temperature rises or falls depending on what we are set at. So if we were able to think differently & talk differently maybe we would actually start to feel & live in that new way? That would be a good trend!
I hope you can hear my heart on this. I am not at all suggesting we all adopt Pollyanna attitudes. I don't have it figured out at.all. I would love to hear what you do to keep it real with out commiserating? How are the ways you are mindful in your thoughts towards your kiddos helping in your actions towards them?
I love Pollyanna! The Glad Game!! I don't have kids but something that always works for me is to think how much worse some people have it. Like when you are having a hard day with your kids – maybe pausing just be so thankful that you have them as there are people who cannot. When I worry and freak out about little health issues – it helps me to remember that there are people really dying out there and I should just be thankful for all I have. Or when I wish we had more money and I'm reminded how 'rich' we really are by world standards and how our blessings are truly overflowing! Helps my perspective so much. To be thankful and content with my life while growing a bigger heart and compassion for those who truly struggle with really serious stuff. Major work in progress over here! : ). LOVE your insight and honesty. Such good stuff!!!
ReplyDeleteRachelle I love that you call it the Glad Game! I am adopting that:). Thanks for being so open for sharing what is going on with you (aren't we all a work in progress? Thank goodness for good ole' perspective) & for your encouragement!
ReplyDeleteLove this, Theresa! Brett and I were just "discussing" the other day the mood in our home...I am easily frustrated, annoyed, inconvenienced, but what does that tell my children? Not to bother Mommy because she'd rather be reading a magazine or doing the dishes? It's definitely not the environment I want for my kids. Thanks for writing this. It's a good reminder for me to find the joy among the chaos. ;)And to be grateful that I have been chosen to be Jack and Maelle's Mommy.
ReplyDeleteGlad I am not the only one, Lindsay! You are a great mommy & we are all figuring it out. Thankful we can do that alongside one another:).
ReplyDelete