Me: A Work in Progress

Have you ever met a person that seems to have it all together? I look out from my chaotic life and see many people who juggle all that life throws at them so well. I actually know quite a few of these people. Most of them are moms, and they inspire me. These moms seem to have kids that never misbehave and are always impeccably dressed. These kids can keep white clothing perfectly white! I don't believe that I've purchased a piece of white clothing for my kids that has stayed perfectly white for even one an entire day. I personally believe that the color white has magnetic powers that attract spaghetti sauce, grass stains and mud pies more than any other color. Also, these moms' homes are always immaculately clean and perfectly decorated. They are the women that have successful careers, but make time to get to the gym 5 days a week. They are also the ones that send their kids to school in adorable homemade Halloween costumes, and send beautiful handmade teacher gifts, too. They volunteer at school and church and in the community and never break a sweat! I can honestly say that I have no idea how they do it, but am amazed and in awe that they are so capable.

I am not that woman. Not at all! I am the mom that has accidentally written the kids' dentist appointment on the date when their doctor's appointments were scheduled and ended up dragging her kids to the dentist's office where they couldn't be seen while simultaneously missing their doctor's appointments! I am the mom that has used a headband, felt and a stapler to create a "costume" for a school play about 10 minutes before we were supposed to be in the car headed to the play. It was not laziness or lack of care about the play, but instead, I was simply overwhelmed and completely forgot that my son was supposed to be a cow that day!

No, I am definitely not a supermom. To be honest, there are days when an uninterrupted 5 minute shower is a huge victory. My house is not huge, nor is it redecorated each season. There are days, in fact, when finding the floor in the kids' bedrooms is a feat! Please don't get me wrong. I do take pride in my home and, of course, in my children. I clean on a regular basis and I do my best to help my kiddos look nice. However, I struggle to keep all the balls in the air. I look at other supermoms and wonder how they manage.

After having internally struggled with my shortcomings, I decidedly took a step back and looked at my life from a different perspective. I had to ask myself, "What do I REALLY want out of all of this?" Talk about an "ah ha" moment! I have gone down the list of all of the things for which I felt bad and realized that most of them are things I don't care too much about!

My (partial) list:

* A spotless home - This would be nice, but is highly impractical.

Unless I decide to have robots instead of children, or come into a billion dollars and hire a round the clock maid, my home will likely be cluttered from time to time.

* An amazing career - Again, this would be awesome! I would love to have a career about which I was passionate. I would love to do a job that changed the world.

But wait...aren't I already doing what I love? I have wanted to be a mom, more than anything else in my life, for as long as I can remember. And maybe, just maybe, I AM changing the world for two little people who need me!

* A movie star physique - Who wouldn't like to have this? We all look at magazines and movie posters and wish we looked like "those people."

The truth is that "those people" don't even look like the magazines and movie posters! This is not to say that I will start eating chocolate for every meal and trade in my gym membership for a Lazy Boy. However, I have come to realize that being healthy is much more important than looking perfect.

* Perfect control - I would love to be the kind of mom that hand makes costumes and gifts. I would love to be the woman that volunteers for every organization that means something to her. I would also like to be so organized that my entire family never missed an appointment, play date, or anything else for that matter ever again!

My truth, though, is that I am doing the very best I can. I get my kids to where they are supposed to be most of the time. I volunteer whenever I can. I have even managed to put together a few cute gifts. However, it is likely that my kids will wear Halloween costumes I purchased at Wal-Mart the day before Halloween. It is also likely that I will not be a superstar volunteer until my kids are grown. And I can almost guarantee that there will be more accidentally overlooked appointments and events.

The bottom line is that, although I am not a supermom, I am truly happy with my messy, disorganized, sticky fingerprinted life. I have two kids whom I adore. I get to be with them everyday. I work hard to teach them kindness and respect. I also do my best to treasure them and show them how to have fun and enjoy their own lives. I am blessed to have the honor and privilege of raising two amazing children. Honestly, what more could I possibly want? So, for now, I am saying goodbye to the supermom who I thought I should be and am embracing the real mom that I am; a work in progress.