The Not-So-Perfect Storm

Truth Tuesday

Some days, I feel like I am doing pretty darn OK as a Mom. 

And other days….well other days, I'm so not there.

Those days, I am thinking for sure that if they issued licenses for this role, I would never have qualified. Or if I had qualified, the Board would certainly have revoked said license by now.

On those days, I'm giving myself a big fat "F" for effort and effectiveness.

Any Mom who tells you she has never had one of those days is either hiding from the truth or possesses some serious SuperWoman powers.

I, however, cannot claim either.

And thus, some days I don't make the grade.

I stink.

And it feels awful

Generally, multiple areas of real and imagined stress and strife must converge to create such an experience.

These areas include:

Homework. I have one child who completes all homework on his/her (let's keep it generic) own and without fanfare. I have one child who claims that it is Mommy's responsibility to not only help, but to teach, for instance, math principles that were not taught or that were glossed-over in class. 

This child won't begin or complete homework unless I am sitting with him/her. Meanwhile, I work from home. I still have a good two or three hours left in my workday when my kids return from school and start homework. Makes for a stressful few hours every single afternoon.

Verdict: Mommy can do better.  And Mommy stinks at math.


Something food-related. I don't know about you, but an empty refrigerator/pantry stresses me out. Giving my kids something quick and easy (read: unhealthy) stresses me out.  Throwing out rotten and obviously unused fruits and vegetables from the fridge annoys me. Actually taking the time to make dinner for kids who end up not even eating it really irks me.  

All of these things happen far more often than I would like.

Verdict: Mommy is no Martha Stewart. She’s more of a combo of Wendy's Drive Thru and a campout gone bad. It’s not pretty.

Brother-sister warfare. My two have less than two years' age difference between them. They have inherited the stubbornness gene of both of their parents. Both are black belts in karate. Personality-wise, they are as different from one another as can be.

All of this, at least in our case, makes for quite a volatile mix. The two often come to blows. Literally. And I have no control over it. In fact, sometimes it seems I make it even worse. This war is being waged on a least three fronts: physical, verbal and emotional.

Verdict:  Mommy has no control, real or imagined. There may possibly be World Peace before these two get along.

Over-scheduling. Luckily, this is not an issue we deal with often. But when we do....wow. Not pretty. I have taken my kids out of most activities so they are not living an over-scheduled existence.

But we have certainly had our moments. There were about five or six years straight during which they did karate almost every single day.

Then this year, both played flag football. Same league, different age groups and divisions. Both had the same team name (Giants). Practices and games differed by time, day and frequency every week so we would receive daily emails with information for the "Giants" team. And both kids were Giants. No one knew which end was up and it affected all of us.

Verdict: Unless and until we simplify, busy, frazzled schedule means frazzled Mommy. Frazzled Mommy makes for speeding, forgetting sports gear at home, rushing, unnecessary yelling and a failure to make the grade. Frazzled Mommy would get her Mommy License revoked.

So let us sum up: Being a Mom may very well be the most rewarding job in the world.

It's also one of the hardest.

Sometimes, your own "Perfect Storm" of mistakes, stress, chaos and math homework may have you question your worthiness.

I'm here to tell you that you are doing just fine. Actually, I am too.

Carry on…

Comments

[Marie]

I love it. I definitely have those days & I'm not afraid to admit it.