Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt
This morning I found myself crying in the bathroom.
Have you ever been there?
A chorus of "Mommy's" rang out from every corner of the house, and the bathroom provided my only easy escape route.
A lock on the door meant I had all of two precious minutes to gather my composure, pray for strength and patience, and reemerge.
I'd already written my to-do list for the day...and somehow my six items had swelled to seven. No big deal, right? I'm sure I can manage.
I even wrote the seventh task in smaller letters, trying to diminish the time it would take. That way it doesn't really count.
"Read to the kids, two loads of laundry, make dinner, write two blog posts, edit a third, and create new reading flashcards for the kids."
Piece of cake!
BUT, I forgot about helping the kids every. single. time. they need something, making breakfast, lunch, two snacks, doing math, a rainy day where we couldn't get out, sad news from a friend, emails that I don't have time to respond to, no mental processing time or space, the normal day-to-day bickering (I mean, character training.) and well....
....Mommy's crying in the bathroom.
In times like these I remind myself that quality is much, much better than quantity.
It's better to read one story happily to my kids and at peace with my world, than to grit my teeth and plod through the normal, check-my-items-off routine.
More tasks may get completed the second way, but at what cost?
If you find yourself in such a day, back off. Put less pressure on yourself and your children.
Find one thing you can enjoy. Start there.
Oh, and come out of the bathroom first.
Jamie is
founder of this little spot called Steady Mom, editor of the blog Simple
Homeschool, mama to three cute kids born on three different
continents, and author of Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional,
Professional Motherhood.
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