I Will Always Choose Sanity
As a mom, I find myself caught between making a lot of decisions every day. Most of them aren’t very large, and many of them aren’t that important, in and of themselves. But when you add up making all those decisions, and what the outcomes could be, and the amount of time that gets poured into every single thing I do, it doesn’t always leave time for everything on my list.
Let me give you an example. Laundry. It has to get done, and it piles up rather quickly. It also needs to be folded, and then put away. Dishes – also must get done, otherwise you will have a gross mess on your hands. Children – need feeding (and so do you). The house – needs to be tidied.
On any given day, those are four of the daunting tasks that are staring me in the face. Let’s not forget that I also have photos to edit and client e-mails to return, I need to exercise, bathe, and spend a reasonable amount of time playing with Caleb.
I’ve developed a non-methodical way of doing everything. It’s called “do as much as you can while still keeping your sanity.” And yes, it works for me. It might not work for everyone, but it works for me. In this non-methodical way of thinking, I tackle the most crucial tasks first (hello, let’s have coffee and eat), and then go about my day tackling things in whatever way I can. Shortcuts abound where possible. And sometimes, the folded laundry sits on the recliner in our bedroom for a week or two before it gets put away. It’s called balance.
When Caleb first started on solids, I was determined that he was only going to eat food that I had made for him. And you know what? For a while, I was able to do it. Because it was so simple then! A couple of pieces of baked vegetables, and purees that I could whip up in batches that would last me 2-3 weeks. But after a while, he started eating a lot more, and wanted more variety, and I couldn’t keep up. Then December rolled around, and boy was it busy. And guess what? He ate A LOT of store bought food. AND SURVIVED. Since then, we use store bought pouches almost daily – maybe not for full meals all the time, but certainly when it saves my sanity.
Some days, he is perfectly content to be at home, inside, playing in his playroom and running around the house with my socks or dad’s underwear or whatever strikes his fancy. Other days, he is wailing for every little thing and making me miserable. And on those days, when he is inconsolable, I CHOOSE MY SANITY. I cast away all the items on the to-do list (unless that includes Publix, bc homeboy loves himself some Publix), and I get out. We walk to the park, we go to the mall, we go to mommy-and-me or story time at the library. But we DO NOT stay home if we do not have to.
Why do I do it? Because honestly, everything else isn’t that important. Eddie might be annoyed when the laundry is still piled high in our bedroom, but at least I won’t snap for being miserable because I let my sanity take a backseat. And you know what? There will always be laundry. My baby boy won’t be a baby for a whole lot longer, and I’d rather enjoy him (even on the days where he is making me question everything I know) than let him sit there and whine while I pick up some clothes.
So the next time your little one is threatening to make you lose your sh*t… remember my words, and CHOOSE YOUR SANITY. Pick an activity that your little monster loves, and just do it. Everything else can wait. Odds are that little nugget is just looking for your attention anyway. 😉
Keep it sane, mommas.
Xo,
