Back when we were a new family of 3!I found the results of my recent poll so interesting! Of the moms who took the poll, 24/25 are weary at least sometimes, with more than half of them saying they are weary from 3-7 days a week! This is a subject that truly hits home with mamas!!!
One of my friends recently shared with me on the phone that when she was feeling weary as a mom, her husband said, "But I thought this is what you wanted to do, more than anything else?" It made her stop and think and be thankful. She shared this with me to encourage me to remember those dreams and to recognize that I am fulfilling them. Really, there is nothing I want to do more! I've wanted to be a mom since I was 3 years old and spent countless years taking care of my dollies and babysitting little kids all through my teens. And while being a mom is much harder than I'd ever imagined some days, I wouldn't trade it for anything else! Oh, there are days when an outside job sounds so much easier than scrubbing up poop everywhere or listening to a screaming baby or a whiny toddler. There are days when the "grass looks greener" at someone else's house or in their situation. But if I stop to consider how I felt before I had children and how much I longed for them, and the joy I felt when I held each new one in my arms, it helps me to be thankful and find joy in the weariness.
I wrote a post a couple of days ago on Talking to yourself instead of listening to yourself. Reminding yourself that you are in your dream job and affirming the blessing and reward that children truly are is a form of talking to yourself. Recently I received by mail another letter from prison (photocopied by an aunt who sends them out to folks) from Hannah Overton. Her pic is on my sidebar. Whenever I think of her and write to her and pray for her I am reminded what a blessing and a priviledge it is to be with my children as she is forcibly separated from her 5 little ones and has been for the last two years, convicted of a crime she didn't commit. I've mentioned on my blog before that her story has often helped me to rejoice, even in hard times, because I know that what she is going through is infinitely harder. Her faith is incredible. I highly recommend you visit her site and read her letters and pray for her quick release.
Love this post, Linds.
ReplyDeleteI had another good perspective-changing experience yesterday when I took the kids to preschool as a "test run" for possibly working 2 mornings a week there next school year. It was very good to get back into teaching, and very hard to see that my children were getting no more of my attention than any of the other preschoolers. It was just as if they were in a preschool/daycare (not necessarily bad--just something I noted). So I'm thinking a LOT about the benefits and drawbacks of going back to teaching a few days a week. Not an easy decision.
And let me tell you, today I appreciated reading Kardelen her story at rest time--just her and me, one on one. Being at the preschool again definitely gave me a different perspective.
I think we stay-at-home moms are ridiculously lucky (I should say, blessed). Being at home all day with our precious children is amazing. And trying, at times. I told Jacob that next time I complain about being overwhelmed by all the things I have to do, to send me to preschool again for the day so I can appreciate being home with the girls all the time. :) (Because my good friend teaches there two full days a week, and though I love her crazily, I wouldn't trade positions for anything.)
There's my little treatise for the day. :)