Worlds Okay-est Mom
Can I tell you a secret? I'm not a "Great" Mom, I'm more of an "Okay" Mom- a work in progress. You know the saying about the duck? That's totally my life. Calm and Unruffled on the surface, but paddling like heck underneath. People only see what I want them to see. Being a Mom (or a parent in general) is hard work, and I never feel like I have it all together. In August we added another human into our juggling act, and it's been one heck of an adjustment. While being a Mom is one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had, its also the most trying. Sometimes I get discouraged. Sometimes I yell. Sometimes I "check out", Sometimes I only get 3 hours of sleep a night and sometimes, I don't even get a shower.
For as long as I can remember, there has been the "Stay at Home Mom vs. Working Mom" debate. Guess what? They are equal. They are all Moms, just trying to balance, and be the best Moms we can be to our children. My job has blessed me with being able to work from home 6 out of 7 days a week & I go into the office on Wednesdays for "Grown Up Day". Staying home is super rewarding, but its also exhausting. I'm a short order cook, a referee, a laundry maid, housekeeper, diaper changer, butt wiper, the disciplinarian and the person who is supposed to be able to fix everything- all while having very limited adult interaction. On Wednesdays it's a mad dash to get myself and 4 littles loaded up and presentable enough to actually leave the house. I get to hang out with adults for a while, and then its a mad dash to get back home, fix dinner, have family time, and then get everyone ready for bed. At the end of the day, both Stay at Home and Working Moms still have one thing on common- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we are all Moms.
I do lots of things that I'm sure others disapprove of. I let my kids watch TV, they play video games (and they aren't all rated "E" for everyone), sometimes they eat fast food and I even give them Cokes on occasion. I formula fed & at some point or another co-slept with all of my babies. I've went more than a week without vacuuming and more times than not, I go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. I raise my voice more than I should. And I'm not always in the best of moods. But for every not so great thing I do. I try to have something to balance it out. I do tell my littles that I love them multiple times a day. I let them get away with more at home- as long as they behave in public. We eat dinner at the table as a family almost every night. They are expected to have good manners. And, I like to believe that their Daddy and I set a good example for what a real marriage should look like.
As parents, our job is to love our littles, and prepare them for the world. To teach and lead them, mold them for those who will have to deal with them in the future. Being a parent is a serious and difficult job. No one is the 100% perfect Mother/Parent, and being a Stay at Home or Working Mom doesn't dictate that. We're constantly learning and growing with our kids. Trial and Error, Good Days and Bad, we are all just parents doing the best we know how. Rarely (if ever) does anyone really have it ALL together. It may seem as such, but really, they are all just ducks too. All you are only seeing what's on the surface.
For as long as I can remember, there has been the "Stay at Home Mom vs. Working Mom" debate. Guess what? They are equal. They are all Moms, just trying to balance, and be the best Moms we can be to our children. My job has blessed me with being able to work from home 6 out of 7 days a week & I go into the office on Wednesdays for "Grown Up Day". Staying home is super rewarding, but its also exhausting. I'm a short order cook, a referee, a laundry maid, housekeeper, diaper changer, butt wiper, the disciplinarian and the person who is supposed to be able to fix everything- all while having very limited adult interaction. On Wednesdays it's a mad dash to get myself and 4 littles loaded up and presentable enough to actually leave the house. I get to hang out with adults for a while, and then its a mad dash to get back home, fix dinner, have family time, and then get everyone ready for bed. At the end of the day, both Stay at Home and Working Moms still have one thing on common- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we are all Moms.
I do lots of things that I'm sure others disapprove of. I let my kids watch TV, they play video games (and they aren't all rated "E" for everyone), sometimes they eat fast food and I even give them Cokes on occasion. I formula fed & at some point or another co-slept with all of my babies. I've went more than a week without vacuuming and more times than not, I go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. I raise my voice more than I should. And I'm not always in the best of moods. But for every not so great thing I do. I try to have something to balance it out. I do tell my littles that I love them multiple times a day. I let them get away with more at home- as long as they behave in public. We eat dinner at the table as a family almost every night. They are expected to have good manners. And, I like to believe that their Daddy and I set a good example for what a real marriage should look like.
As parents, our job is to love our littles, and prepare them for the world. To teach and lead them, mold them for those who will have to deal with them in the future. Being a parent is a serious and difficult job. No one is the 100% perfect Mother/Parent, and being a Stay at Home or Working Mom doesn't dictate that. We're constantly learning and growing with our kids. Trial and Error, Good Days and Bad, we are all just parents doing the best we know how. Rarely (if ever) does anyone really have it ALL together. It may seem as such, but really, they are all just ducks too. All you are only seeing what's on the surface.
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