A good Mom OR a good Housewife
I've been having a lazy month.
It's been too cold to want to do anything. Anything at all.
Which really sucks since I was doing SO GOOD at my running, and although I'm still running far more than I have EVER run before, it's less than it was for the first two weeks of January, which makes me feel like a failure. But that's a whole other post for another day!
So, we've been having lazy days. Me and my two little boys. The older three kids go to school and work and learn and the little boys and I stay at home and stay in pyjamas. We aren't following much of a routine (other than bedtime routine-which is a must!!) We've been watching movies, playing computer games and taking it easy. I have been getting some scrapbooking done, and I finally decided that laundry really does need to be completed, not just a few loads here and there so that we have a few things, but I need to actually get my laundry done!
The problem with all this lazieness (lets call it relaxation, that sounds SO MUCH nicer!), is that it gives me too much time to think and ponder. I look at blogs and Pinterest think about things I would like to do. Activites I would like to do, recipes I want to try, and crafts I want to make. Which is great, but sometimes, if I'm not careful, instead of seeing what I want to do and how I can make my home and life better, I start to see what I'm not doing. The birthday parties that I didn't go all out on, crafts that I really should have in my home, games that I should have played with my kids, notes I should have written, love I should have shared...instead of feeling uplifted and inspired, I fall into the trap of guilt. That trap of course leads to a slight depression, which leads to a lack of motivation and then I feel more guilt. Nice cycle, eh?
Well, yesterday, we had our monthly crop (One of these days I'll blog about that!) and, as usual we got hours of chatting in! Something that one of my friends said to me at the end of the night, has had me thinking all day. She said "Everyday, you can either be a good mom OR a good housewife, you can't be both on the same day." It was a really good thought that has left me thinking. She is completely right. On the days that I do lots of laundry and baking and sewing and cleaning, my kids get kind of ignored. They are fed obviously, and taken care of, but those are the days that they watch a lot of tv and are expected to entertain themselves for a good chunk of the day. On the other hand, the days that I spend playing with my kids, doing crafts, listening to their stories, having tickle fights, are the days that my house goes to pot. Dishes are left undone, laundry piles up we eat leftovers, and my kids smile.
The point is, both days have their benefits. I can't spend my life trying to be everything all at the same time. I need to be happy with having a day that is one or the other and then make sure that there is a balance of both days. I think I can do that. I can focus on one thing and be good at that one thing for a day. This is doable. It sure bets the other - feeling like I'm never good enough for anything and will NEVER be able to be all that I want/need to be for myself, my kids, my husband, my parents and everyone else in my life.
I can be a good mom for a day.
I can be a good wife for a day.
I can be a good homemaker for a day.
I CAN DO THIS!
It's been too cold to want to do anything. Anything at all.
Which really sucks since I was doing SO GOOD at my running, and although I'm still running far more than I have EVER run before, it's less than it was for the first two weeks of January, which makes me feel like a failure. But that's a whole other post for another day!
So, we've been having lazy days. Me and my two little boys. The older three kids go to school and work and learn and the little boys and I stay at home and stay in pyjamas. We aren't following much of a routine (other than bedtime routine-which is a must!!) We've been watching movies, playing computer games and taking it easy. I have been getting some scrapbooking done, and I finally decided that laundry really does need to be completed, not just a few loads here and there so that we have a few things, but I need to actually get my laundry done!
The problem with all this lazieness (lets call it relaxation, that sounds SO MUCH nicer!), is that it gives me too much time to think and ponder. I look at blogs and Pinterest think about things I would like to do. Activites I would like to do, recipes I want to try, and crafts I want to make. Which is great, but sometimes, if I'm not careful, instead of seeing what I want to do and how I can make my home and life better, I start to see what I'm not doing. The birthday parties that I didn't go all out on, crafts that I really should have in my home, games that I should have played with my kids, notes I should have written, love I should have shared...instead of feeling uplifted and inspired, I fall into the trap of guilt. That trap of course leads to a slight depression, which leads to a lack of motivation and then I feel more guilt. Nice cycle, eh?
Well, yesterday, we had our monthly crop (One of these days I'll blog about that!) and, as usual we got hours of chatting in! Something that one of my friends said to me at the end of the night, has had me thinking all day. She said "Everyday, you can either be a good mom OR a good housewife, you can't be both on the same day." It was a really good thought that has left me thinking. She is completely right. On the days that I do lots of laundry and baking and sewing and cleaning, my kids get kind of ignored. They are fed obviously, and taken care of, but those are the days that they watch a lot of tv and are expected to entertain themselves for a good chunk of the day. On the other hand, the days that I spend playing with my kids, doing crafts, listening to their stories, having tickle fights, are the days that my house goes to pot. Dishes are left undone, laundry piles up we eat leftovers, and my kids smile.
The point is, both days have their benefits. I can't spend my life trying to be everything all at the same time. I need to be happy with having a day that is one or the other and then make sure that there is a balance of both days. I think I can do that. I can focus on one thing and be good at that one thing for a day. This is doable. It sure bets the other - feeling like I'm never good enough for anything and will NEVER be able to be all that I want/need to be for myself, my kids, my husband, my parents and everyone else in my life.
I can be a good mom for a day.
I can be a good wife for a day.
I can be a good homemaker for a day.
I CAN DO THIS!
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