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Wedesday: Mid Week Ramblings—Motherhood
November 5th, 2008 in Wednesday: Mid Week Ramblings
Over the past few months I have received quite a few questions relating to motherhood. Asking how to stay inspired, how to stay grateful, how to stay happy, how to make sure you take care of yourself personally, how to ”provide yourself with meaningful, intellectual, stimulating activities while still being the world’s number one mom.” I wanted to give time and thought to these questions and ask others to help me give advice, inspiration, helpful words without coming off as a know it all, bossy, judgemental and without downplaying the true concerns and struggles us as mothers have.
I asked a few other Mothers to help me in this topic very close to my heart and one I feel like every few months I personally struggle with. I am excited to say that Lauren from Supermom Central is our first contributor.
“It is surprisingly easy to lose yourself in motherhood! There is nothing wrong with the desire to be the best mother possible to the precious little ones you are raising. However, I notice that when I let everything else slide in the name of good parentingI end up frazzled or too emotionally drained to continually give my children everything they need. There are four key things that help me keep my focus:
1 – Foster the father/child relationship. In other words, leave the kids with Dad at least once a week. This is good for all involved! Dad gets to interact with his kiddos and gain confidence as a parent, the little ones grow close to their father, and you can quiet your mind with the kind of inner silence only a mother can appreciate. Even if you are just running errands for a few hours, be completely on your own.
2 – Incorporate your interests into your mothering. I’d love to say “take time out for your hobbies” but the bottom line is that most of are just too busy and feel guilty taking much personal time. So find creative ways to get the meaningful intellectual stimulation you need as an adult and as a woman while still in mommy mode. Want to learn a musical instrument? Encourage your children to dance and sing while you practice. Interested in travel and world cultures? Show travel videos in the playroom while you “pretend” to pack bags and go on vacation with your little ones. Love to craft? Give your children wooden figures to paint while you work on your latest project. View Motherhood as an opportunity for you AND your children to grow in meaningful ways. This life is a journey you are making together.
3 – Stay inspired through flexibility. Falling into a routine can seem organized or efficient, but it stifles your creativity as a parent. Break up the daily grind as often as possible – eat lunch in a different room of the house, turn the entire playroom into a zoo for the day, have naptime in a home-made tent, throw a pajama party! The less predictable, the more you will look forward to mothering as an adventure instead of a job.
4 – Remember: To everything there is a Season. As I walk across my crunchy kitchen floor or stumble over countless legos, I do my best to remind myself that life will not always be like this. One day my children will be grown and the house will be very very clean and very very quiet. And I will look back on these days in the trenches and miss them. Terribly. Right now this is my Mothering Season. My time to let the laundry sit and play Candyland. This opportunity for life-lessons and nurturing of open, excited young minds will be brief and irreplaceable. What a precious gift!”
Lauren’s blog: Supermom Central – tips, tricks and tidbits for the aspiring Supermom.
Very well said. Those points are great to remember day to day. I struggle every hour of every day with the noise v. mess v. fun battle. I love my kiddos and I want to remember these days as the “fun” days and I want them to also.
I love Lauren’s sight! I have been a regular over there for awhile. She’s got it right about it being the season of our lives. Someday I will miss all the craziness. Find joy in the journey and enjoy the moments!!
I love all of your tips…I notice when I…”Break up the daily grind as often as possible” that our days seem to go much better and I end the day thinking how great of a day it was
I really like the advice to help Dad develop a relationship with the kids. Not only will that be good for your kids and for your husband, but it will help YOUR relationship with your husband as you feel support from him as a parent. And when your relationship with your husband is doing well, it’s easier to be a better mom.
I loved reading this article! What great ideas for incorporating our mothering interests while also getting our kids involved.
I love these ideas. I have been contemplating the idea of seasons of motherhood for a while now and it rings so true.
Great post!
I especially love the first and last pieces of advice!
Good luck with 15 days!
I’ll be following you on twitter