Lately, I have been feeling drained, drained by motherhood, drained by all the daily mundane tasks especially the cleaning. Sometimes it feels like all I do is clean up one mess after another all day long. Yes, I am teaching Caleb to clean up after himself but toddlers have such a one track mind, it can be a challenge.
Sometimes it is hard not to get caught up in the roles I have throughout the day especially the role of mess cleaner.
I struggle with messes, seeing them being mad then having to deal with the aftermath.
Like yesterday, I made roasted baby squash for dinner. There was olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dried rosemary, thyme and garlic on them all ready to go into the oven. I turned my back for just a second and Caleb poured a bunch more salt on the veggies. Sure it doesn't seem like a big deal but at 5:30pm as I am waiting for my husband to come home, I am tired and one more mess at the time seems like the worst thing to clean up. Remove Caleb from the mess, get out the vacuum, plug it in, you get the photo.
As a mom whether a stay at home or working mom, we have a lot of roles. It can be challenging not to get caught up in the many, many roles we play throughout the day and make that our identity. We love our children to the ends of the earth but the cleaning, the trying to avoid messes, etc. can get old. Can I get an amen?
So I want to hear from you, how do you try not to get caught up in the roles we serve as becoming our identity moms?
4 comments:
I have so much respect for Moms and I am looking forward to taking on this challenge. You are amazing my friend.
All of the 'amens'! I love the babies, hate the (never-ending) messes. And also the whining, I don't love the whining. -- Lisa | Naptime Chai
PREACH!!!!! This is my life times two! My little girls are the most wonderful yet equally exhausting creatures on the planet. I love them dearly...but I informed my husband had our younger two children been our first two children we would have stopped at two. And while I feel myself on the verge of losing it...I can't help but feel the Holy Spirit tug at my heart...reminding me that this is exactly what the enemy wants...to steal my joy....to make me count down the minutes until bedtime...to skip a craft project with my four year bc I don't want to clean up one more mess. He is hard at work with Mothers....but if we arm ourselves with scripture and prayer...we can crush the enemy under our feet. 💛
I drink a lot.
Just kidding! It's a challenge, it's just always a challenge. I had to stop working on my RN because I wasn't the student I wanted to be and I definitely wasn't the mom I wanted to be. Now I work 40 hours a week, do the oily thing, and have all my boys, too. I'm exhausted. I hate the people that say "It goes by so fast!" I know that's true, but when I'm washing pee sheets for the hundredth time and annoyed that the meal I made was met with tears AGAIN and I'm feeding the boys frozen chicken nuggets way more than I care to admit, I want it to go by a little faster.
So, I just try to concentrate on what's right in front of me. When I'm at work, I try to be the best nurse I can. When I pick the boys up from daycare, I try to focus straight on them and them only. I fail at this allllll the time. I'm tired and I wish my husband was home at bedtime more and part of the reason I'm a good nurse is because I'm a mom so I can't just separate those out. I make sure I have friends I can vent to and be honest with and who will also gently tell me to shut up and appreciate my beautiful family.
The messes can wait sometimes. Sometimes they can't. But whenever possible, I just leave it and play and get messy with the boys. And I've given up on feeling well rested and just am glad to have enough energy to get through the day well anyway.
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