I love honesty! My visiting teaching often talks about how honest I am and that she can count on me to make her feel like she isn't doing too bad. Now I could joke and say, "wow, I'm glad I'm such a mess that it comforts others" in a sarcastic voice. But it's true. I strive to be transparent enough that I'll never be considered a "Jones" to keep up with. But I also hope that as others see my mess, they also see kids who are loved, learning, clean (ok not clean), fed, and for the most part, happy. I'm doing ok in life, and I thank the Lord for that everyday. I couldn't do it by myself.
I've been directed to a blog post of another mom who loves her kids but is going crazy. She is honest and I thought I'd pass it on. I hope you enjoy, especially the young moms. And as Glennon Melton says in her blog post, "It's helluva hard, isn't it? You're a good mom, I can tell. And I like your kids, especially that one peeing in the corner. She's my favorite. Carry on, warrior. Six hours till bedtime."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html
I'm adding my favorite conference talk also on the subject of children.
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/children?lang=eng
3 Comments
Can I give you my opinion on this, now that I can look back on the situation? I stayed home with my 3 children for 9 years; when Kay was born, I had 3 children under 4.5. And I was 25 years old. At times I felt very overwhelmed and had little self-confidence. I think you need to look at being a stay at home mom as a job. Set goals for yourself and then smaller daily goals to help you reach that big goal. To think of these goals think about why you have decided to be a stay at home mom. Some reasons might be: 1 - So you can raise your children with your value system. 2 – To keep life simply (it is very difficult to work and take care of a family). 3 - So you can discipline your children the way you think is appropriate (I always hated the thought of others disciplining my children). 4 – So your children can be altogether, instead of being separated in different parts of a daycare. Smaller goals might be to: 1 - be consistent in disciplining. 2 – show individual attention to each child every day, even if it is only 5 minutes. 3- Hold FHE weekly. A few other thoughts: 1 - I also think it is a good idea to get up and ready for the day first thing in the morning. 2 - I thought it was my job to complete as many jobs around the house that I could. For example, I took care of the yard, even though that was my husband’s job. That way he could spend more time with the children in the evenings and on the weekends. 3 – You can save the family money by staying at home and finding good deals on food, furniture, etc. 4 – Food is very important to men and children, have a nice meal ready for your husband when he gets home. Oh and don’t forget, that with any job, there are parts of that job that you hate, but you just have to do it anyway. That’s my two cents.
hey mom…Thanks for those words…I love them and we can do it!!!
Maggie I saw a sign online today that I think we should make together…and it applies to your post…It reads "Please excuse the mess my children are making memories" and how true is that. I have a small goal.. To have a clean but lived in house..therefore I can have some mess! Also I love the links you put up…That talk in conference on children was very encouraging and that other one make me smile, laugh and to try harder to enjoy every moment!
Amen. It's a tough job but worth it all! You're doing great, even when things are messy.