Mommy Yin and Yang
This post is by Meredith … I’m sure it’ll ring true for many of you!
I got a little overconfident yesterday. The house was tidy (enough), the laundry was under control (almost), and dinner was already cooking in the crock-pot. I had even been to an exercise class, showered (yay!), and had started to plow through my work emails and to do list. I patted myself on the back for being a pillar of efficiency, and then – bam! – the school nurse called to say that my son was sick and needed to be picked up immediately. If the scene had been in a movie it would have been accompanied by a sound effect of a record scratching to a halt.
Frankly, I should’ve known it was too good to be true, right? It’s “Mommy Murphy’s Law.” The constant Yin and Yang, ebb and flow, good and bad, everyday roller coaster that is motherhood. That’s just how it is for us moms. One minute we’re firing on all cylinders, and the next moment someone comes running in from the backyard with a bloody knee or a broken toy or a tear-filled report of unsportsmanlike conduct in need of a referee.
It’s inevitable. The day you change the sheets, someone will wake up in the middle of the night with a stomach bug. The day you forget to restock the diaper bag, your infant will have a blow out poop while you’re at the mall. The second you compliment your children on playing together nicely someone will start crying, someone else will feign innocence, and the third will rat the other two out. We learn to accept that the most mundane activities often unravel into complete chaos.
Fortunately, as we learn in middle school science, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In mommy terms that means that your four year-old will tell you you’re the most beautiful mommy in the world even though it’s noon, you’re still in your pajama bottoms, and you haven’t yet brushed your teeth. Or, after your most frazzled and harried day, your child will come bounding off the school bus with a handmade card, a wilted dandelion – lovingly saved since recess – and an enormous hug, lifting your spirits instantaneously.
As moms, we ride the wave – waiting out the troughs, savoring the peaks, and hoping that – in the end – we find the balance that is the perfect Yin and Yang of motherhood.
Thank you for making me smile today
This first time Mom sure appreciates all of the articles and support I get from other Mothers. Especially being a stay at home Mom in Costa Rica. The culture is different than in the United States. It’s nice to have women that share share to teach!
So true! I couldn’t have said it better myself! Thank you
LOVE this! It sure hits home and is very accurate! Love your writing.
this really hit home for me.. Are you sure you don’t live at our house?? I am so glad to know it’s just not me going through the mundane trials and tribulations !! Thanks for the well written article.
Being a mom is my greatest achievement of my life. And am be proud of it!Thanks for this article. Love it.
As a single parent it seems that most days my waves are really big and this day has been no exception. I have a 3 yr old that had surgery a week ago and a 10 yr old that is still feeling left left out. There is only so much of me to go around and I do the best that I can and most days still feel that I in some way have let my kids down. But after finding this article by mistake it really made me feel a lot better. I am now savoring the peaks more than worrying about the trials!
Thats exactly right..and even though there is the waves like you said isnt it amazing how we would never change anything thats what being a mom is about.I thought i was done having kids then 11 years after my second daughter was born we decided to have 1 more and it was a little boy,my kids are 17,14 and amost 3.they are everything to me.I was 38 when my son was born.and some people may say its more work when your a little older mom but i will tell you its worth it!
LOVE this! It sure hits home!