My Secret to Surviving Motherhood

Feeling totally overwhelmed

I will never forget the day I walked into our local library for kid's library time feeling totally defeated. I had two small kids at the time, and I was a mess. At the time I was dealing with a lot of postpartum depression, feeling pretty unqualified for these two amazing babies, and exhausted.
Have you been there?

I needed help

I clearly was a walking mess. There was no way to hide how I was feeling about life during that season, and it must have been the way I was talking because in that moment an angel by the name of Mrs. Leah entered my life. She politely asked if she could share something with me, and I agreed because what did I have to lose. I was so over trying to be the most present mom, clean the house, put meals on the table.... I wanted to scream and run away FOREVER!

She shared about this woman who lived in a tiny house with lots of kids, and a system she created to help her household. She is known as The Fly Lady. At the time the only thing that stuck out to me where these three things:

• Make your bed every morning
• Do one load of laundry a day
• Go to bed with a clean sink

She was so sweet and told me to just start there, and if I got those three things checked off ( and kept the kids alive) I was being productive. It doesn't seem like much, but when life feels like there are fires everywhere, this seemed like something simple to work on. I needed to feel like I was accomplishing something.

My letter to you

Dear mama,
I felt the need to pass this on as a reminder that you are doing the best you can. It will look different than anyone else because you are you. We have different emotions, hormones raging through our bodies, having an identity crisis, and second guessing everything you are doing. You might feel like you want to give up. You are not alone.

We wonder if we did enough that day, get asked when dinner will be ready, and right when you are about to fall asleep the baby cries. I am in a different season with my kids now with Parker 5 and Emery 3, but I still go back to these three simple things almost every single day. To be honest, there are days where some just don't get done because the piles of laundry just seem too much to tackle. I have never continued adding more steps to these three like The Fly Lady talks about, but I feel like I might start taking a look at them now.

soo...

Now you know my secret weapon to surviving motherhood.
It really. has been something that changed my life during a time where brushing my teeth felt like a chore. Now get up, tell yourself you are doing a damn good job, and go kiss your babies! Stop putting crazy expectation on yourself that none of us mamas would ever be able to accomplish. Plus, this time goes fast. Go ahead and roll your eyes at me because I did the same thing, and it was the last thing I wanted to hear. Now, I thank every wiser woman who reminds me that the days are long, but the years are short because it makes me stop to change my mindset. It also usually makes me cry because I am longer in the baby stages, and time is not slowing down

Cheering you on,
Lacie

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