My existence, summed up
in the words of Lorelai Gilmore
She is my spirit animal
Running from the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning, coffee is crucial to my survival.
We joke and hashtag it "momlife", but parental day-to-day life is nothing short of the pure exhaustion. Joyous and love-filled exhaustion.
(FYI- I am not saying that those without children don't also lead exhausting lives. Please don't write hate mail.)
Of course, this wouldn't be complete without one of life's classic banana peels...
Getting sick.
Not the simple runny nose kind of sick.
I mean the sick that makes that kind of sick look like a stroll in the park with sunshine and rainbows coming out of your nose.
I mean the "did you catch the license plate of the bus that ran me over three times" kind of sick.
How inconsiderate...I mean, this ailment didn't bother to check my schedule or book a sitter or anything! It did, however, remember to come right before laundry day and when food was dwindling in the fridge. And, of course, it didn't forget to gift this lovely present to my kids as well.
It's kind of difficult to care for another human being when you can hardly move, wouldn't you say? But you do it, because you love your children and you do what you have to do. You prioritize and keep their fevers at bay, their hydration levels high, and their favorite movies rolling. Not everything gets done, though, and it's hard to not feel the weight of the tasks that are piling up while out of commission. Even when trying to get some rest, the feeling of being crushed under the to-do's awaiting me kept me from getting some much-needed sleep.
Fellow Moms: Is it just me, or do we sometimes feel like it's our job to get everything done under all circumstances? And when it doesn't, it means we failed or we're not enough?
It's times like these when we need a firm reprimand from our more rational selves, because this is NOT accurate! It's this type of thinking (our own or that which is projected by others) that resulted in me having to FORCE myself into making goals of self-care instead of it being a natural occurrence. Sound odd? Or worse, sound familiar?
So I gave myself a good, stern talkin' too...
"Jess, get a grip. The extra laundry won't burst through the windows, and the dishes won't cause the house to explode. They will all be there once recovery kicks in (any day now would be great, Body). I can divide and conquer at that point. But for now, instead of stressing yourself out, take care of your body so that you can go from sick exhaustion back to regular exhaustion."
I will allow myself to be sick, and to get better.
For relief, I'll take snuggling with my sick little bug and endless amounts of Gilmore Girls for the zillionth time because there's no cure like their mind-bending repartee. Repeat until we can't find our way out of the blankets and I'm convinced that we actually live in Stars Hollow.
