Overwhelmed By The Underwhelming

Okay, this post is to my fellow moms out there. It's time to 'fess up. As much as I try to project an "in control of life" image to the outside world, I must be honest and admit to being "overwhelmed by the underwhelming" quite often. Can some of you relate?

You moms know what I mean ... You spend an entire day cleaning and doing laundry at a frantic pace. By late afternoon, the house looks great, clothes are all hung and dinner is simmering. That evening, you sit back and enjoy a neat, clean space and you feel like a success at "mom-hood" ... then, you wake up the next morning and wonder what tornado came through.

The baby is eating a bowl of chocolate candy that you have no idea how he/she got out of the top cabinet. There are a couple of dirty pull ups on the floor of the den. Papers are splattered everywhere. Dirty dishes sit on most every table and counter space in the kitchen.

As you try to get the family ready, one kid has lost his glasses (again) ... one is moving in slow motion and complaining about his stomach ... one has a poopy diaper and runs from you every time you try to change it ... a couple of kids are arguing in another room and one ends up screaming "I'm hurt" ... everyone's shoes are out at the back yard trampoline (wet from last night's rain) ... you get the picture.

You look around and wonder ... "What happened? I was super mom just yesterday!" Without warning, your temper flares when the two youngest kids walk up to you suddenly covered in brownie dough from the bowl that you had placed in the sink and wipe their dark little paws on your white shirt that you just ironed. Next, your hormones kick in and you just want to cry ... you daydream about walking out the front door ... right to the local day spa!

But then reality waves at you and you remember that this "mom job" is 24/7 and that your kiddos really do need you. This is what I think of as being overwhelmed by the underwhelming. None of my current "mom frustrations" are very important. In fact, most are underwhelming and trivial ... but for some reason, they can really add up and I end up with that "overwhelmed" feeling again!

Good medicine for this is a play time out with some other moms ... away from said house with said tornado aftermath. Any chance to relax and watch them play for a while also helps. Sometimes, we just take a fun bath right in the middle of the day.