SURVIVING MOTHERHOOD
With Mother’s day on the horizon, I continue to reflect on my role as momma to Isabella and Jonathan. There is so much truth to the many clichés I heard from friends when I was pregnant…
”It’s the best yet hardest role of your life”
“Such extreme highs and lows”
“There is no better job in the world”
Everyone wanted to pass on words of wisdom as we prepared for parenting. My sweet husband likes to say he’s not going to give you advice on parenting…I think he got sick of all the “words of wisdom.” The truth of the matter is we all have the right to approach parenthood the way it works for us. We all have different philosophies and ideas of what being a parent looks like for our family. And I’ve learned it’s very important not to be judgmental and that we are all doing the best we can.
With that being said, today I’m sharing what has worked for me so far as the mother of my two beautiful children. These are a few of the tricks in surviving and thriving in motherhood in my world:
1. Let them dress themselves-this was a game changer. I’m not 100% sure what age this happened, probably around 2 or 3 years old (when they became SUPER opinionated). I fought with my kids forever on their outfits until one day I just gave up. It was the best battle I’ve ever let go of. They may not be matching or have outfits that make sense, but life is SO much easier now that they dress themselves. Jonathan has even stopped wearing PJs and just goes to sleep in his clothes every night. So the mornings are really easy…he’s already dressed.
2. Dressing for special occasions-let’s be honest, sometimes we hit a homerun and other times there is major bribing to get my kids dressed for special occasions. I try to prep them by talking about it and even have them try on their clothes ahead of time. I also distract them with the end result—a treat or some type of FUN activity. But hey, you win some and you lose some!
3. Go to hair style-In my head, I imagine Isabella to have beautiful braids everyday with ribbons, pigtails or beautiful big bows on top of her head. The reality is most days her go to hair style is MAJOR bed head. And I’m okay with that—it keeps things easier in the morning. These days I’m looking for anything to streamline my life.
4. Surround myself with like-minded mothers-this has been key for me. I’m super type A and I can get out of control with things. I know you guys are shocked. I have found it’s SO refreshing to align myself with girlfriends that are in the same stages of life with their children, but more specifically that keep things real. The ones that aren’t afraid to share the “real moments” and are okay with imperfection.
5. No one is perfect-In this day in age, it feels like as mother’s we are expected to do more things than ever before… Run a company, be a domestic goddess, have our kids in 20 different after school activities, be super involved in our community, host playdates, have girl’s night out, go on date nights with our hubby, the list can go on and on. UGH!!! It’s too much!! Sometimes it comes across that a few mothers are mastering all of these somehow and can bring up interior feelings. Well in my experience, no one is perfect and they are not mastering all of this (at least not on their own). For me, I give myself some grace. We are all doing the best we can.
HAPPY HAPPY Mother’s Days!
with LOVE and grace,
Elizabeth