Being a parent is a whirlwind of goodness... and chaos... and laughter... and screaming.
Raising a little one can be very challenging. You're constantly looking at the children, the drinking glass on the table, the pile of laundry in the basket, the ope- your toddler is running again. "IS that a frog in your hands. NO- You cannot bring the frog in the house. Or the stick. The stick stays outside." The timer on the stove starts going off. Suddenly there's silence- only to find the children have made a brand new ART design on your living room wall.
So Precious.
As a parent you're looking in five different directions every three minutes. That alone is challenging. You're taking on a new task as a parent. Every year as the children grow older, comes new challenges a new stage. It's all worth it. We'll get to be the ones who hear their laughter the most. We'll get the most hugs. We'll get to see their eyes light up when they discover something new. These are the rewards to our efforts.
Still the task is challenging. Worth it - but still a challenge.
Let me give you some Mom advice. Find a time for YOU to rest. By rest, I don't mean sleeping or napping. I'm talking about an emotional and mental rest. Our daily lives raising children are emotion rollercoasters of fright, surprise and joy. Processing all the emotional changes takes a lot of of a person. Let's add the mental challenges on there too. "No- you can't play with that it's not safe." "No-you're not allowed in that cabinet." "Don't climb on the bookshelf" "Stay in the yard." "Don't play with strange cats you don't know." "Stay out of your Dad's closet." "No. Underwear goes inside your pants...not on the outside."
Your mind has been tapping into safety regulations you didn't even know about. All day your mind has been pouring words of wisdom into your children that you might not have even known about. So yeah- raising children will stretch you not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. You'll need more that just 5 hours of sleep. You need breaks in the day when you can just recover. Everyday will change. Don't try to schedule your rest into a daily schedule because kids have a fantastic way of changing your planned schedules. Just take the moments as they come. It could be during their naps. Or when they're watching their favorite tv show, you might get a solid 5 minutes in to read before they're off to their next adventure. Better yet, put them to bed early. When the opportunity arises I want you to get your favorite snack, your favorite book, watch your favorite tv show and just rest your mind.
You'll feel so much better when you do.
You can do this! We'll do it together.