Maybe some of you actually do all the things that you pin on pinterest....you know what I mean. "5 Simple Steps to Never Having a Messy House Again", "30 Organic, Homemade,Budget Friendly Meals for Your Family", "52 Easy Crafts to Give as Gifts", "Get Toned in Just 45 Minutes a Day","How to Look Like a Fashionista 100% of the Time". You know what I mean. The only reason I even go on pinterest anymore is to spend 10 minutes daydreaming about what life as a mom would be like in a perfect world, where I would have time to have a spotless house, make home made food, express creativity daily, workout, and look hot in the latest fashions every day.
Would you like to know the reality of the situation? This is the reality. I just dusted my bedroom for the first time in a month. I'm not kidding. A month. I'm always at least a week behind on laundry. And even when I am caught up, we live out of the laundry basket. Because, let's face it, who has the time or energy to actually put the clothes away once you finally got them washed and dried? Today, the thing I'm most thankful for is that we have a dog to eat the half eaten bits of toast and cucumber off of the floor (which I've been meaning to mop...for 3 weeks now). Post-wife/Pre-motherhood me would be shocked, appalled, maybe even disgusted. Post-motherhood me feels like I should get a medal for doing any house work today.
It's an excellent day if I manage to get out of the house. Oh, I went to the mother and toddler groups a few times a week for a while....and then we experienced the first round of "teething". Let me tell you, that was a joy! Even though we have since survived and recovered, I'm really not sure how I ever managed to shower, let alone leave the house, before 10AM. In fact, shouldn't I get some kind of award for making it to church most sunday mornings?! I haven't worked out in a month, and we probably eat frozen pizza or some other similarly processed and unhealthy instant frozen food at least twice a week. I guess this probably contributes to that 10 extra pounds of baby weight I haven't managed to shed just yet, huh? The one chance I've had at a girls night in the last month came on a night where I didn't sit down to (my frozen pizza) dinner with my husband until 8pm after a long and rough afternoon with a fussy baby who refused to nap. Needless to say, I was practically paralyzed by exhaustion and had to miss out on hanging out with two great friends.
Our society has this messed up mentality that moms should somehow be able to do it all. Actually, it's not that they should just do it all, they should do it all perfectly. So, instead of contributing to the problem by simply trying to keep up appearances, I've decided to lay it all out there and be honest about my life as a mom. I know there are quite a few mommy bloggers out there who have already joined this "reality of the stay at home mom" revolution, but I needed to put it in my own words. It helps me to refocus, and it gives me clarity about why I wanted to be a mother. The answer is definitely not "so that I would be able to become Pinterest personified"
Did I mention that motherhood is honestly the most rewarding, heart-warming, satisfying job in the entire world? That is why I've always wanted to be a mom. I love Elijah more than life itself, and I wouldn't trade my time with him for anything!
In order to end my (possibly annual) post, I'll just say this: To those of you who "do it all" (if you actually exist), hats off to you for being Supermom! You're amazing! To those of you who try to make the rest of us think that you do it all, when you are actually just as behind on the housework and exhausted as the rest of us, screw you. Okay, okay. Maybe that is a bit harsh, but you should really own up to your own weaknesses and stop trying to make the rest of us feel like we aren't good enough! (Not to mention what you are doing to yourself....who can deal with that kind of pressure?!) You'll feel much better. Promise.
