Category: Uncategorized

I just realized I haven’t written a post in a year. What? How?

Like could I not find the time to write one simple blog post? What was I busy doing? Washing my hair? No. Going out to fancy dinners? No. Enjoying a vacation on a white sandy beach where I couldn’t be bothered? No.

So what on earth have I been doing for A YEAR? *eye roll*

Well, the other day I was in Target and the previous customer was having a conversation with the cashier about Walmart people. You know the people. Pajamas on, dignity off. They were talking about how people at Walmart are a mess while people at Target at least show up looking decent. They were laughing and describing these said Walmart people, and then it hit me. I looked down to see an oversized sweatshirt, leggings (as pants) and nikes, accompanied by unwashed hair and last night’s makeup (or maybe last week’s?). They were talking about me. I was a Walmart person trying to fit in at Target. I bowed my head, started laughing, and made my Walmart person exit.

So what have I been doing for a year? Probably learning how to be a Walmart person.

Sometimes I think I don’t even have standards anymore. I see Yoga mom out there looking all hot and I think, should I be Yoga mom? Yoga mom has standards. Her legs have standards too.

But nope, I’m just out here being the person the cashier at Target laughs about. I’m just washing dishes or doing laundry when I could be getting myself presentable. I’m just finding another place in my house where I can store laundry in attempts to not fold it and put it away. I’m just a mom trying to raise two little humans to be great people despite the fact that I feed them frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese. You can find me changing diapers or waiting at the grocery pickup location hoping I don’t have to get out of the vehicle. I spend my days asking my toddler if she went poo-poo or pee-pee. I’m just out here praying both my kids nap at the same time at some point so I can sit in silence for a second. I’m just a mom who loves her kids but also loves bedtime.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that raising little people is hard. Really hard. But that’s what I’ve been up to this past year. Learning how to be a mom of two humans, plus a wife to my husband. Seems simple enough, right? Maybe I’ll figure it out soon, maybe not.

But hey, maybe by next year I will have upgraded to a Target person. Possibilities are endless ya know.

When asked how to promote world peace, Mother Teresa responded, “Go home and love your family.”

In a busy world it’s easy to forget such simplicity. We get caught up in to-do lists that need to be checked off, work that needs to get done, errands that need to be ran, and let’s be honest – watching Netflix on the regular. We try and solve the world’s problems with presidential debates and organizations that promise change. Don’t get me wrong, these things are all extremely important (yes, Netflix included), but only if we start at home first. Having a family that knows they are loved and a priority can solve a lot of the world’s problems preventatively instead of as a reaction. Instead of neglecting the roles we play in our families, we need to embrace them for what they are.

Today it isn’t always looked at as the highest honor to sit at home and just love your children. Our society wants us doing more, being more. It isn’t always enough to change diapers and do laundry. Somehow the world wants us also starting a nonprofit or selling something trendy online. I can say from experience that staying at home with your children can seem like a whole lot of nothing at times. It sure can seem like changing another diaper or making another meal isn’t enough. Too often it can create feelings of doubt in our souls that because we are not doing enough, we are not enough. I used to always laugh when a stay at home mom would say her “job” was “hard.” I would dream in my mind how nice that “hard job” must be. Sipping coffee, taking cute strolls with that adorable baby outside, going to Target every day. Sounds like a dream job to me.

Then I became a stay at home mom. I quickly realized I had to chug my coffee if I wanted to get some (had to get some) before my toddler was trying to grab it out of my hands and pour it on the floor. Then I learned that those cute strolls outside were really moments of sanity from a screaming or crying child that needed a little environment change. I also learned that going to Target really was a mom thing, but only because it may be the only time you get out of the house in a week, and bonus, I’ve learned how to distract my toddler with any means necessary to at least make it around the store without a meltdown (sometimes).

Becoming a mother has changed my world more drastically than I could have imagined. Every day is a sacrifice to make sure my family has everything they need and they feel loved and cared for. Sometimes, most of the time, all this means is that there is another meal to eat, another diaper changed and another load of laundry done. These things may seem insignificant but they can change the world. Jesus changed the world by laying down His life for others and calls us to do the same daily. This is what parenthood is all about – laying down your own desires and sacrificing daily to ensure a better life for your family. Feeding the hungry kids at home. Loving the crying baby at 3:00am when all you want to do is sleep. Taking the time to teach your kids how to be kind and how to love. We need parents that take the time to do the small things because they will make a big difference in the end.

If we slow down and take the time to raise children who are nurtured and loved, the world would be a different place to live in. Would it be easier not to parent at times? Yes. Would it be easier to continue to stay busy so that people could see my contribution to the world? Absolutely.

But sometimes you need to just go home and love your family.