By Janet Krebs, CONNECT 4 Kids Parenting Coach
Women are octopi! IYKYK.
I recently had coffee with some ladies whose philanthropic passions match my own. Remember, I have two kids so today felt like a vacation. One of the woman had her four kids in tow. Two are seven-month-old twin girls and I just love them. Two are older: preschool and first grade.
Everyone had left the restaurant, so I was helping my friend load the car with all the kids and STUFF! It was just an unbelievable whirlwind. The two older kids got in the van themselves. Next the babies got strapped into their car seats and the circus continued! There were multiple bags for the babies and the van had all sorts of stuff in it. It looked like they were running away from home.
I looked at her and said, “You’re so courageous. I don’t know that I would ever leave the house!” We both giggled and she replied, “This is just what I do. I must leave the house, obviously. And yeah, it’s so much.”
She’s just does it and makes it look easy.
Does she have way more energy than I remember having as a mom? I don’t know. I can’t really remember! It was 30 plus years ago. Are there SO many tools and gadgets today? Did I have stuff? Probably the basics, diapers, wipes and food and a few hand-held toys. Do I feel like I missed out on anything? Not really.
The point is, parenthood is always going to evolve, and it will always be hard. There will always be gizmos and gadgets to aid and assist and it will still feel hard. There will always be people willing to help and it’s still going to be hard: that’s part of the equation. Whining about it definitely does not make parenting easier, even if it feels good sometimes.
I know, have some compassion, Janet. And I do. But isn’t this is what we signed up for?
I mean, here’s a mom with four kids and she just takes it all in stride. What else can she do? Nothing. So, we take it in stride and give ourselves grace. We work through the hard. We relax through the easy and take the breaks when we can. And we just enjoy parenthood the way it was designed to be, the good, the bad, and the ugly all wrapped up into one.
I’d love to know your thoughts. What does your family look like? How many things do you juggle? How many octopi arms does it take for you to load the car, unload the car, groceries, car seats and all of that? I’d love to know what your experience is. Happy summer.
