With working (nearly) full time and 3 young children, sometimes it's all we can do to stay afloat. I wrestle with being "good enough" both at home and at work. Knowing there is always more to be done on both fronts: an extra hour at the hospital could wrap up a lot of work, but the loss of an hour with the kids is time I will never get back. The house needs tending to, my car looks like a bag of pretzels exploded inside and the kids are begging for some attention. And by the time they go to bed, we both crash on the couch in pure exhaustion. This is life. I've read a lot of inspirational pieces lately, but a few have hit home. One (which I don't have a copy of), told me to stop looking for the next milestone/opportunity, and instead, enjoy the current moment. Boy are we trying hard to do just that. Not looking for what next week or next month has in store, but swallowing up the time we have right now. Enjoy it to the fullest.
The second was this letter, because it really is funny and matches our lives exactly right now (I've shortened/edited it a bit):
"Dear Toddler Mom,
There are smushed Cheerios on the seats of your car. You went to work with a Donald Duck sticker on your rear end…and didn’t find it until this evening when you were cooking dinner.
The tantrums are at a whole new level. How dare you turn on { garbarge trucks }, when he clearly wanted { trains }? I mean, he asked for "ucky", but don’t you read minds? Also, he wanted chicken nuggets for dinner- no, wait, now he wants pizza. Or cookies. No cookies! Stop it, mommy. Apple juice, please? Is avocado a fruit or a vegetable? Doesn’t matter, that’s all he’ll eat for dinner anyway. Did he just throw the apple juice on the floor? And these are just the tantrums that we can semi-explain.
What about the tantrum on the way to the park the other day? When you had to carry a flailing screaming toddler all the way home? You had no idea what caused it, but you were sure someone would stop you and accuse you of kidnapping that poor little guy. Actually, you wished they would have. Maybe the nice officer would give you a ride home. Or just turn on his siren – that should distract him, right?
The laundry you just folded is now artfully strewn across the floor. You can’t remember the last time you used the restroom without fingers sticking under the door or someone yelling “Moooommmmmmmyyyyyyy” through the door. Is there a wine delivery service in town?
I know today seems hard. But soak it up. Because one day you’ll wish for these days back. Someday you’ll shed a tear thinking about the little hands that were “helping” with the laundry. You’ll miss the hours spent dancing to music. Crashing cars off the edge of the couch. Plus, think of all the calories you burned carrying a thirty pound resisting child home. Definitely enough for a margarita, right?
Soak it up. Sing “Let It Go” at the top of your lungs. Run in circles around the house. Have a wine break as necessary. It’ll all be okay. Bedtime is near.
You’ve STILL got this, momma."
Reading that, talking to friends, it all helps. The girls are older and how quickly we forgot just how different having a toddler is. But I just know we will miss it when this phase is over. So we're hanging on for dear life!
The last piece, I stumbled upon and it resonated hard with my own line of work. The stuff that happens inside the walls of the hospital, it's tough. Day in and day out, we are faced with scenarios and problems that are sometimes unexplainable. They're sad and emotional; but they make me so very grateful for the health of my family. Something taken for granted all too often.
"Truth be told, happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them. Imagine all the wondrous things your mind might embrace if it weren’t wrapped so tightly around your struggles. Always look at what you have, instead of what you have lost. Because it’s not what the world takes away from you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left."
A great reminder for this month of thanksgiving.
