To breathe, to catch my breath, how do I do that with the laundry spread across the floor waiting to be folded, with my 11 year old asking me constant questions, with my stomach growling from hunger, with the stress of knowing I cannot find a thing to fix for dinner and don’t have the time it would take to eat before the next soccer practice begins. How do I relax knowing in 2 hours I will be teaching a class and I am nervous about the material?
I just want to talk to my husband when he gets home but my mind is racing and the kids will bombard him with questions and then it will be time to leave: hungry, nervous, frustrated, annoyed and unable to breathe right. I walk outside for fresh air but it is still and hot yet inside there is no quiet kids are playing a game hitting the walls harmlessly but loudly and it all feels too much for me.
Where do I go? How do I center my soul? And so I write until my fingers cramp, I write until my breathing becomes normal once more, I write so I can think a complete thought and calm my nerves. And so I write…
Oh I hear you on this one, Lori. Writing brings peace, reflection, perspective. I wish I had more time to throw myself into it more often!
And then I feel guilty for writing because I’m behind on the to do list!
Lori,
Mom’s are not machines and they are certainly not slaves.
We don’t have any children, but we were kids ourselves at one time. I grew up in an Italian family and my mom’s solution to these problems were simple. She made us learn how to fold laundry, how to cook, how to help her to clean, and most of all how not to depend on her all of the time. These things came before all of our extracurricular activities. She made us prioritize and she taught us to be good stewards of what we had, which is something that everyone has to deal with throughout their entire life. This principle apllied to everything from our bodies to our clothes to our schoolwork and even to the money in our wallets. God created us to be good managers and no one is exempt from that.
When I married Judy in 2000 she was amazed by how much I knew how to do in our home. It all stemmed from my childhood. I’m not saying that children should be turned into slaves either. That’s not my point. There has to be balance. My point is that there has to be discipline, organization, and most of all unity within the household.
If any of us were to leave anything lying around we knew where it would end up. On the front lawn.
Participation is the key.
Above all of this the most important thing in the family should be daily prayer time and family scripture readings and discussions. Let them know that God is the real head of the household.
“The family that prays together stays together”
Fr. Patrick Peyton
Where the Holy Spirit is there will also be found peace and UNITY.
Our goal is to help each other get to heaven. There is nothing greater or more important than that. That is the best thing that we can desire for each other……to spend eternity with God.
That begins in the high chair.
One last thing: Don’t ever let on to those kids that they can frustrate you. You’re the parent and God has placed you over your children and not the other way around. It is also very important that you set aside time every day for yourself and for your husband to be with God and with each other. Very important!
“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
God will give to you the necessary grace to endure.
I hope this helps.
Pax, Michael +++