Is It Just Me?

I recently overheard someone asking my teenage daughter the ages of her siblings. Her answer caused me to reflect on the reality of my crazy life. I try to invest in my older kids through discussions about Snapchat, world travel, and the risks of drinking alcohol. Then it’s off to soccer and while it’s a good time to be on my phone, I try to avoid it in case the six and ten year olds ask, “Did you see that?” And then I’m wiping boogers and playing dress-up with the toddler twins. This 20-year age difference between my kids made me wonder…

Is it just me or do you sometimes feel like being a mom is the hardest job in the world?

Is it just me or does going out to eat feel like you suddenly become an entertainer/magician?

Is it just me or do you wonder what happened when you were gone because your house is a disaster when you return?

Is it just me or are Sunday mornings the hardest morning of the week? You have to get everyone dressed, fed and out the door to church ON TIME only to get there and find your toddlers have taken off their socks and shoes?

Is it just me or could you survive for at least a week in your car with the food on the floor and extra clothes that have accumulated?

Is it just me or does it feel like trying to get everyone together to take a family picture is like herding cats?

Is it just me or have you ever wondered why when you say, "Bedtime!" it’s like last call at a bar as they race to the kitchen for one more meal?

Is it just me or can you remember the last time you actually went to the bathroom...alone?

Is it just me or do you have days when you look at your toddler and think...why are you still talking? And you have the same thought about your teenage daughter? (I’m just looking for some silence.)

Is it just me or do you wonder why in the middle of winter your little boys still want to be in silky shorts and no shirts?

Is it just me or has your toddler gotten in your bed at night and snuggled right up next to you, and every time you move, she moves with you?

Is it just me or have you ever gone to the refrigerator, freezer or pantry and pulled something off the shelf only to find it was empty and you wonder, "Why didn’t they just throw the box away?!"

Is it just me or have you ever looked at your laundry room, bathroom or kitchen and thought, “Where did this mess come from?”

Here’s the truth: I get overwhelmed. Some days it just feels hard. And there are days I feel unappreciated.

Here’s the other truth: It’s when I feel like I have nothing else to give, one of them will say, “Mom, I love you so much” or “Will you hold me?” or “Can we cuddle?” Or the time I got a birthday card from my ten year old who wrote words I didn’t even know he knew, and yet he wrote them about me. And I love when randomly my daughters want to spend time with me and how they appreciate that I care about my health. I also love when my adult son wraps his arms around me, and tells me that he loves me...just because.

In my “is it just me” moments I don’t always see the fruit of my labor but I know that investing into these precious lives is the most important job that I have. And even though at times it feels like they aren’t appreciating it, they are. Being a mom is the most rewarding job in the whole wide world…eventually!  

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 127:3 (NASB)

Blessings,

Rhonda

AWalkwithGod.net

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