I am struggling with how things keep changing! Maybe its because I am getting older and I can remember what came before all these advancements. Technology has revved up the speed and expectations of life. Being privy to everyone's day has also upped the comparison factor.
I love getting the newest model or update, but its hard to keep up both money-wise and time-wise. Its harder to feel content when we are bombarded by the message that - New is better! Newer doesn't mean better necessarily! Marketers are good at pressuring and convincing us that this is true. Their voice is loud but contrary to reality. Reality is that we are often taking one step forward and three backward. A little adjustment can fix one problem and send four others spinning out of control. Why are we in such a hurry to do or accomplish more? Why change something if it is working? What happened to being content? Something isn't an improvement just because it is new! Don't get me wrong. I am thankful for a lot of the advancements that have come in the last two decades or so. It is such a fast paced world! I find myself rebelling. The faster life goes the more I am looking to step out of the race. Life isn't a sprint people! Every year brings new inventions and sometimes that makes life easier, but it also feels like I am trading my peace for productivity. Do I bow down to a Sovereign God or the god of productivity? What is my motivation? Now, I find myself asking myself questions. Why are spouses wishing each other a Happy Birthday on social media? Will they not be seeing them in person? Can they not call them? Is this message for their spouse or for the rest of the world? Hey, I don't judge; I find myself copying this ridiculous trend! It's just a thought that runs through my mind... I cringe when I see someone post their stance on something because I know how many times my stance has changed on a subject once I learned a little more information, love or grace. I feel bad knowing that post is out there for everyone to see FOREVER! How many posts will I regret? Sometimes the language makes me thankful my kids have many more years before I allow them anywhere near a social platform. Has Facetime and Facebook replaced saying sincere things in person? What happened to the face-to-face? I am grateful to follow friends across the country/state on social media or getting a glimpse into their day-t0-day, but now you can follow anyone and everyone! If I am not careful I won't leave enough time to live my own life. What happens if these advancements take us away from living in the moment to recording the moment?! Am I feeding a monster? Does sharing a status update or talking live to unknown audiences feel strange to anyone else? Almost feels like I am bragging about my day, kids, time, date etc. How did we get here? How is this normal? Seems like I am forgetting how to have down-time. Do I leave any time for boredom - imagination - to flourish? So here are some of my questions I consider before posting:
I wish I could always get it right. Almost makes me want to dump social media altogether. There is good, bad and ugly when it comes to these technological advancements. For now, I choose to be more social with my immediate circle, say things in person when I can and be more mindful if and when I post. My whole life does not need to be out there to prove it is happening!
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You ever stare at yourself in the mirror and wonder, what the hell happened? I wish I could pin it to something specific. One moment you are cruising along and doing well and then KAHBLAMMY!
I get that this parenting journey isn't easy or perfect. I get that life throws curve balls. But to go from one extreme to another, for seemingly no reason at all, that is when the logical part of my brain throws a fit. LITERALLY! I like to know the why! I readily admit there are certain times of the month that hormones mess with me. Lack of sleep or sickness can easily throw me off kilter, but all that is understandable. I didn't realize that I was looking for someone or something to blame for my lack of self-control. I am an adult and I should be able to act like one, but... there are some days I don't! There are some days that I just suck and feel like giving up. Normally, I can feel it building, but not always. I've tried counting to ten, retreating, meditating, or phoning a friend! Cheerfully, I can say, this has worked some of the time. As a parent, it's hard to get the you-time when you need it. Methods for chilling out and restoring balance are wonderful. Exhaustion makes it hard to use them, however. Mental exhaustion is just as real as physical. It sneaks up on you! You see, when you are a mom, there are a lot of variables to your day. A lot of people are depending on you for countless reasons. The nurturing mentality oozes out even when it's to our detriment. The amount of responsibilities, worries, details, tasks, and demands that are placed on us or that we willingly take on are incredible. We don't even realize all that we are balancing. Even our subconscious is overworked. Every year I hear about women doing more and more incredible things! We throw around slogans about Super Mom and talk about how we want our daughters to be able to do anything and everything they want to. We have seminars about empowerment and vision. Don't get me wrong; I am all for equal rights! But just because we can do something doesn't mean we should, right? And definitely not all at once! I need to be okay with my workload and not try to mimic all the Pinterest moms I admire. I am still learning that I have a lot to learn: about myself, about priorities, seasons, and saying no. Too much of a good thing, striving until exhausted, people-pleasing, volunteering for one more thing - these are things you learn to stop most often by failing. I've had pretty great examples, but they weren't perfect! So, I am here to admit it. Aloud and unproud - no excuses -I lost it! Ugh! The day before was amazing. I made pancakes with my kids, remembered to kiss and appreciate my husband, cleaned the house, homeschooled the children, and it was all Instagram worthy! And then today happened... I wish I could blame it on the kids, my spouse, or even hormones, but nothing was different from the day before. My kids were fairly well behaved. It wasn't rainy and miserable. My husband said he loved me and told me he didn't have that long of a work day, so he would make supper. Yes, I married a good one! Then KAHBLAMMY - I was short tempered with the kids! I could see the bewilderment in their eyes. Maybe I felt overwhelmed by the little mess that had accumulated in the one day since we had thoroughly cleaned it, but really there is not excusing my behavior even if I couldn't pin down why. I was angry! I slammed a door and dissolved into tears, feeling like a total failure. Talk about a roller-coaster, a great day followed by a suckfest! I justify my actions a lot by my circumstances. Did I get enough sleep? Did my spouse show me any appreciation or love for that basket of laundry I folded and put away! Were my kids kind and obedient? Was the weather too hot, cold or rainy? I didn't get my needed ____ (sleep, caffeine, chocolate, wine, etc.)! The list of excuses goes on and on. The fact was - I blew it! So what now? Hand in my kids? Delete my social media accounts because I am a not a supermom with endless patience for baking, crafts, sewing, and board games? Waaaaahhh! (Can you hear my pity party?) If you are feeling like a bad mom, you are not alone! I had myself a good cry, thanked God for yet another do-over and went to hug my kids. Maybe you've had a day or 50 like mine? I've had more than I want to number. From one wanna-be-supermom to another, God offers endless redos. We haven't scarred our kids in some way God didn't foresee. It's okay for our kids to see that we get overwhelmed. It's probably the biggest and best lesson we can teach. Moms need to apologize too! Our good days and bad ones will shape our kids, but the potter is still on his throne. He is able to turn our lumpy attempts into useful vessels. Listen hard and you will hear him whisper: I've got this; I'm good at fixing things. Back off the ledge and we'll start afresh together. |
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