It is continually amazing to find parenting is so complex. There are so many things to balance and learn. I'm always out of something: patience, energy, time, productivity, meal ideas, patience again. It feels like something is always off kilter or needs adjustment, and I can't quite put my finger on the solution. My brain comes up with possible solutions, such as getting the kids to sleep before I collapse in exhaustion, going out one evening a week for a date with a friend or by myself, having one hour to myself a week to bathe or write, staying really busy, staying home in pajamas all day, or cuddling more with my babies. Whatever the challenge, solution, or emotion, there is an ebb and flow to it all like waves licking the sandy beach. I often take comfort in providing healthy food for my family, spending quality time with my little ones, or talking with other moms about similar feelings and predicaments. And that is often enough to get me through another day being consumed by my sweet needy children.
Just this morning I had a lovely conversation with two friends about how we are unable to concentrate or speak articulately or remember like we did before our worlds revolved around young children. It helps to have others around to remind us that we are not alone in the sea of mothering. It helps to hear that other moms have befriended fairy godmothers and babysitters to spend time with their children so they can get things crossed off their endless lists once in a while. A mother doesn't have to accomplish everything with children clinging to her legs. There is hope in hearing a veteran mother share that having young children is the most physically exhausting time of mothering (while the teenage years are the most emotionally exhausting). Our children will grow quickly and we'll look back and see they were young for such a short time. These are the days to practice our patience, to love on our children, forgive ourselves for being out of balance, and to let them pull us to the ground for some more cuddles.
Just this morning I had a lovely conversation with two friends about how we are unable to concentrate or speak articulately or remember like we did before our worlds revolved around young children. It helps to have others around to remind us that we are not alone in the sea of mothering. It helps to hear that other moms have befriended fairy godmothers and babysitters to spend time with their children so they can get things crossed off their endless lists once in a while. A mother doesn't have to accomplish everything with children clinging to her legs. There is hope in hearing a veteran mother share that having young children is the most physically exhausting time of mothering (while the teenage years are the most emotionally exhausting). Our children will grow quickly and we'll look back and see they were young for such a short time. These are the days to practice our patience, to love on our children, forgive ourselves for being out of balance, and to let them pull us to the ground for some more cuddles.
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