I wasn’t productive today. Well, at least that’s what my brain is telling me. I had to pick up my oldest from school early for a sniffly nose. Every kid has a sniffly nose right now but, ok fine strike one against me. My younger one is sick too which means neediness is at an all-time high. I had high hopes for this day – a full to do list to meticulously tackle. But then this thing, this lingering sickness that’s been plaguing my kids for weeks, started creeping its way into my ear, nose and throat. Suddenly I was throwing on Peppa Pig while my youngest slept so I could sneak in a few minutes of reprieve in my REM cycle. Of course I felt guilty when I woke up…if you can even call it waking up. I don’t think I actually really fell asleep although the drool on my cheek might tell you otherwise. I didn’t answer any emails. I didn’t do any writing. I had grand plans to pre-clean the house before the cleaners come tomorrow, like all neurotic homeowners do. But no, didn’t get that done. I’ll have to do that tomorrow before they show up. “Hey Alexa, set my alarm for an hour earlier.” I wanted to cook something wholesome and healthy for my family but I guess leftover mac n’ cheese will have to do. Another strike against me. I’m irritable and tired. I snapped at my oldest for being too rough with my youngest and immediately felt the mom guilt kick in. God today sucks. Chalk it up as an L right? Actually…as I sit here taking inventory of the day I find myself pleasantly surprised. This day, a day where I told everyone I got nothing done, was actually for all intents and purposes…productive. I got up early and did a workout before anyone in my house was awake. I even unloaded the dishwasher and switched the laundry from the washer to the dryer before I started hearing those familiar groans and squeaks from my kids rooms. I got both kids fed, dressed, and respective bags ready. I got my 3 year old off to school without a hitch and looking somewhat decently put together. I got my 1 year old to her pediatrician appointment on time and timed it perfectly so she would fall asleep in the car on the way home and transfer to finish her nap in her crib while I got ready. Check and check. I got myself ready and got us all geared up to go watch my oldest in her annual Christmas performance. I even got there early – and my youngest was dressed, fed, well-rested and happy(ish). Hey, maybe this day wasn’t so bad after all. We got lunch after and everyone was content. My mom stopped by right before the house plague crippled me so my 3 year old was able to spend some one-on-one time with her grandma while I rested. They haven’t had much time together recently with all the hoopla of the holidays so this was overdue. I could hear them laughing as I drifted in and out, wiping aforementioned drool off my face. I had the wherewithal to turn on the jacuzzi before my little midday siesta so we had a nice spa session after baby woke up from her second nap. My kids love the water. Everyone got clean, dressed in cozies and we played. I cleaned out the fridge and did a quick wipe down of all sticky surfaces. The house has looked worse. Dinner time melted into bath time seamlessly and I even had time to make a reel for my mother-in-law’s business Instagram while my kids played happily in the tub. It’s not the best piece of content I’ve ever put out but she was happy with it. So, not a total fail. Got kids out, in jammies, hair brushed and all but put to bed before my husband arrived home for some final hugs and kisses. Kids were put to bed, all respective messes put away, in bed myself by 8 pm to clock out and check in. Hey, maybe this day wasn’t as big of a fail as I initially thought. And look, here I am writing – one of the main tasks on my ever-growing, never shrinking to do list. Us moms are way too hard on ourselves. This day, a day I felt was implicitly unproductive, was actually a good one if you look at the broad strokes. I took care of myself, my kids, our home, and my business. Sure, maybe it wasn’t as cohesive and consecutive as I wanted it to be. Energy came in bursts and small messes were followed by big messes which were then cleaned up and stamped out with even more small messes. But it all got cleaned and organized. It’s amazing what we can get done in a day. And even more amazing how our brain categorizes a solid day versus a wash of one. If you showed most people a spreadsheet of the tasks I completed today, I think they would be hard-pressed to say it was anything other than an uber productive day. Keeping two kids alive alone is impressive enough – let alone making sure their day is enriched and fun and entertaining and educational. All things I sort of, kind of did today. We laughed and we wrote our names and we watched probably too much TV and likely ate too much sugar but my 3 year old still told me I was the “best mommy in the whole world!” before she went to sleep so I guess she didn’t notice. You know what, today was actually a pretty good day. Maybe even a great day at that. Who knew!
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