It is a saturday morning, 9am. The kids have been awake since who knows when, keeping themselves entertained by watching cartoons. Hubby is still upstairs snoring since his early evening nap threw his bedtime off a few hours (poor dear)
I have been up for an hour, not a pleasant waking, but at 8am who can complain. Second cup of coffee is poured, I have scanned my email and Facebook, and am cozy and warm on the couch.
All week I have seen proclamations of burn out and exhaustion from moms in my circles. Tired moms who spend the night with sleepless babies, exhausted moms just desperate for a moment for themselves.
This post from The NomadMom is a perfect example.
Women, nose deep in the waters of child rearing.
Today I just want to let you know, the waters DO recede. It does get better. This will not last.
Our kids are 11, (almost) 9 and 5. All three are in school, take the bus and are “growing up” We are at the point where our little dude, while he can’t use the toaster, CAN search and discover food to keep himself alive for that 30 minutes before we wake on a saturday.
The girls can clean their rooms, manage the vacuum and “pitch in” and help around the house.
Heck, our kids even wash the dishes.
They DO understand a “not now, mommy’s working” glare, made through my office doors, and can even anticipate when it might be a good idea to walk into the room with an open bottle of wine when they over hear one of those stressed mom and dad conversations.
I want you to know, it gets better.
Soon you will be able to have a bath by yourself, slowly getting out after an hour of peace, only to realize no one noticed you were even gone.
Eventually you will be missed in the invite to family movie night, since everyone knows how to make popcorn now, so the need for your skills has diminished.
And one day, you will stand in the basement, after a long day of work, keen to hang with your family and realize they are all busy without you.
No one was waiting for you to finish, in fact, they just got on with life while you were doing your own thing.
It does end, and while I know today is hard and there doesn’t seem like a spare second of time for yourself, this isn’t forever.
Soon you will have all the time you need, plus some. It is coming sooner than you think.
Right now you are irreplaceable, and I want you to know that it won’t last. Soon your kids will know your secret cookie recipe and figure out what those little sheets do in the dryer. Eventually your mad Mario skills won’t be needed to fight the boss and the kids will complete the levels before you even have a chance to play.
Embrace the chaos today, drown in it knowing that soon the tide goes out and the beach will be clean and sunny and sandy. And all yours.
Your day to doze will come and one day you will wake up at 8am on a saturday morning and be able to spend your time as you wish. Be patient moms, what you are doing is worth it and it is only temporary. This, none of it, will last.