As the door screeched open, my feet met muddy water. Having been gone all day, exhaustion hit. I entered my haven, anticipating my place of refuge, yet on entry to that supposed respite from the frantic world, mud greeted me. I took a few steps further, and I stumbled over 25 pairs of unmatched shoes. They had been thrown off a shelf in an attempt to move the broken washer.
Dare I walk further?
Loads and loads of laundry waited patiently, peeking over the top of the sofa. The dogs feasted on remnants of a full garbage, a chore not checked off by the one asked, and dinner was non existence as five voices echoed, “What for dinner, Mom?”
“Seriously? You are honestly asking me that as I walk into a total disaster?”
Sometimes my days, no, my weeks, seem to elicit a bit more bedlam than the beauty I desire, so when Mucinex® Sinus-MaxTM approached me the day after the above scenario occurred wanting me to share some tips to keeping a clear head while balancing a hectic schedule, I chuckled. It was either chuckle, or cry.
Yes, I balance a very hectic schedule.
With five children, homeschooling, a full time work at home job, volunteering, ministry etc., sometimes I wonder how I balance it all well, and then I remember, I don’t.
I don’t do it all well, all the time. On any given day, something gives.
That is the best piece of encouragement that I can give on the topic of balance: no one balances a hectic, crazy schedule well at all times, but with an extra measure of patience, we take baby steps each and every day.
Just like I give tips on balancing ones budget where I encourage each dollar to have a specific job, the same can be said for our time management. We need to give all of our responsibilities a role, but unfortunately, there are only so many hours of the day.
Some days, I meal plan well. Other days, my kids wonder how I ever blog on recipes and wonder if I’ll ever cook again.
Some days, I contemplate and execute creative activities with my children, and ponder when they’ll start awarding me “Mom of the Year” trophies. Other days, the TV captures their full attention for too many hours, and it’s the “babysitter” I declared I’d never use.
Some days, I would not care if company pops in unannounced because my house is picked up. Most days, it’s not.
So how do I truly keep a clear head in the midst of a crazy schedule?
(Embracing the “little things” and enjoying PJ Day right along with my daughter)
I take a deep breath and remember that it’s the little things that are the big things. I embrace those little things – those things that truly matter, that make memories, that give our children the solid foundation of a secure home life, and then I give myself grace for all which falls through the cracks. (Much more than I care to admit.)
I attempt to get better organized, to declutter, to delegate and a whole host of things I know that I should do to keep my schedule on track, but in the long run, I remember that no one else can be the mom to my kids that I can. No one else can love my husband like me, and they have been entrusted to me for such a short time, I want to savor them.
Yes, the days are long, but the years are short.
Years from now, I just want my family to remember our time together and how much they love being with me, not how well I “did it” all: what ever “it” is.
How do you deal with your schedule? Do you have ideas, tips or encouragement for making beauty from the bedlam?
First things first. I love your blog. As an empty-nester mom, I can say you are absolutely right and I love this quote from you, “The days are long but the years are short.”. How very true!!! Enjoy your days!
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Jen Reply:
February 16th, 2013 at 9:16 pm
Thanks so much for your sweet words. 🙂
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I just found that quote the other day…”the days are long but the years are short”. I’ve made that my favorite quote. With two small children who are 5 and 3 it is easy to forget that I won’t always be responding to their every need and one of these days I will have too much free time:o) And I struggle to balance everything too. I need to focus more on the positive things that happen and let the negative go!!!
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This sounds so familiar and I don’t even have kids yet! I haven’t mastered anything when it comes to keeping the house clean, but I’m trying hard to just do something to pick up wherever I am, while I am there. So when I’m in the kitchen I’m trying to make myself put dishes away while I wait for the water to boil. Or I try to keep the washer going all the time when I am blogging or studying. If it weren’t for multi-tasking, I’d have no chance.
This may sound funny, but the only thing that really seems to work every time for me is to invite company over once in awhile, which forces me to clean the house from top to bottom! LOL. Am I alone on that one? 🙂
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Jen Reply:
February 18th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
Oh Jamie – I will high five you on that one. Honestly? We are hosting 15 middle schoolers in two weeks for a youth group event. They will be sleeping all over the place and my boys room is HORRENDOUS. I keep saying, “You know that you only have two weeks to get this place spotless, don’t you? ” and unfortunately, the same is going for my room too. haha
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Thanks! I needed that post because I had a day like that last week too. sometimes the bedlam is out of control! sometimes the bark is worse than the bite!! nice to restore order but life continues on – bedlam or not ha ha.
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I like this post, it’s nice to know I’m not the only mom who thinks that we shouldn’t have to do everything well all the time; however, I also feel like I deserve a good pat on the back from my family when I am supermom for the day, but I digress, my children will never know how much I actually do for them until they become parents, just like I never noticed until I had kids, lol.
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I’ve just read your blog on hectic schedules. I’m also a mother of five and recently recovered from a serious illness and surgery. I also homeschool. We are behind on everything, my house is dirty, and I have no idea what we will be eating the rest of the week. Thanks for being real! I’m so glad to know I’m not the only mom like me.
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Jen Reply:
April 4th, 2014 at 12:36 pm
Dawn, we are in this together. Every mom at some time is going to struggle with this, but most just never acknowledge it. There are those good days and then those not so good days, right? I hope you recovering from your surgery well.
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Beautiful post! Thank you for sharing. As a homeschooling, part-time working mom of 3 kids ages 6 and under, I too embrace your philosophy. I want them to remember mama playing outside, reading great books together, baking cookies with them, building blanket forts, and most importantly modeling the love of Jesus. If they remember my clutter and my all-too-frequent “where are my keys?”, that’s ok too, but all the good memories will far outweigh not “doing it all”. Thank you!
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Jen Reply:
April 4th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
You are so welcome!!! WE will continue to remind ourselves and embrace it together.
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