Day 245: Article #2 for the preschool.

Finding Balance

The other day, I read an article written by a woman who basically said, “I'm a slob and I don't care. I've got plenty of time to have fun with my kids because I'm not doing housework. We're happy and that's all that matters.” I looked up and around at my living room littered with toys, laundry piled on the “laundry chair', socks strewn everywhere. One child was running around pantless chasing the dog with a chopstick, the other child was splayed upside down on the couch watching tv with a finger up her nose. “ Hmm”, I thought, feeling dishevelled and sleep-deprived,“How do I get me some of that?”

As much as I like to imagine that I'm one of those mom's whose got themselves pulled together and organized, with an impeccably perfect home and a nutritious, well thought out organic evening meal, I'm not. The truth is, my house is a mess. I'm constantly late or looking for something, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I love my kids with all my might and want to give them all of me, but sometimes I hide in my bedroom and mindlessly search the internet losing all track of time only to scramble, last minute, to get to the next lesson.

I try, I really do. But clean only lasts for a short while before it's lost to our reality... And thanks to my matriarchal genes that demand that life be JUST SO, I feel myself start to panic when my house becomes a disaster. So, with article in mind, and reality all around me, I set out to find some balance.

Underneath the layers of reminders, coupons, drawings and pictures on my fridge, I have an article that I ripped out of Island Parent magazine last summer titled “The Mindful Mama: 10 tips for finding more joy and peace.” Every now and then, when I'm really caught up in pandemonium, I catch a glimpse of it and scan down the list, trying to absorb some bliss.

These are the article's 10 tips for finding more joy and peace:
1) Rise with Intention
2) Plant a Garden
3) Breathe
4) Do yoga
5) Read
6) Create a daily rhythm
7) Get moving
8) Play
9) Community
10) Meditate.

The intention of the article is to encourage us to take care of ourselves, first and foremost-despite the mess, the lack of sleep, and the busyness-in order to take better care of our families. I am often reminded that if I'm not happy, then no one is happy, and (not to toot my own horn) it's true. Those days when I'm super stressed out, tired and grumpy, seem to be the worst of days for us all, and the days when I accept what is and just go with the flow, somehow end up being the most fun.

In 5 days my husband will be going away for 2 months and I'll take any tips for finding more joy and peace (and strength and confidence and sanity) that I can get. Actually, I'm going to make it my mission. Armed with these 10 tips, I plan to shrug the guilt and zenfully embrace my inner slob.

So what if my house is a mess, that my garden will take 20 years to get where I imagine it, that we are going to eat take-out again because I just can't handle making supper tonight...so what? It's all about doing what I have to do to be the best and most present mom that I can be, for them as well as for myself.

And if that means having a laundry chair in the middle of the living room then so be it.