It’s not rocket science, the fact that an actual marathon runner slows their pace and adjusts their speed to conserve energy in order to be able to complete their race.
Why would it be any different for a mother? Sometimes motherhood is so much harder than at other times.
I find that for me personally, winters are my roughest season. It never fails that just in time to coincide with the ugly, gloomy, dark days of winter, I am met with sick children. Already somewhat blue because I am naturally inclined to be peppy according to the sunshine, I find myself quite often, slipping into a funk during the winter months when it seems my children just won’t stop getting sick.
This year was no different, as we battled stomach viruses, at least twice, horrible colds, upper respiratory infections and airway issues, fever, so on and so on. And the whole time I dreaded leaving the house for fear of one of them getting something else or God forbid, H1N1.
I couldn’t wait for winter to be over this year. Because, yes, I do so love spring and truly LIVE for summer time, but also because it meant an end in sight to all the sickness. And with six kids, it seemed I was always worried about who had what or who was about to catch what from whom.
Frazzled.
Drained.
Ready for spring.
And alas, spring has yet again arrived and I have begun to breathe a huge sigh of relief and thankfulness. Something about the springtime just resonates so deeply within me. The vibrant colors, the sound of the chirping of the birds, seeing the butterflies newly freed from their cocoons….It’s just so glorious! The planting of the vegetable garden in my backyard, the flowers on my front porch, the laughter of the boys from being able to once again play and run free outside….It’s all so welcomed and beautiful.
But unfortunately, there are times within the spring season and every other season as well, that I get run down. Like most moms, I have learned that another one of the times when I need to slow down and conserve energy is when my husband is out of town.
I am sure any military wife or single mom can relate in that, when the husband is gone, it’s all on OUR shoulders. This isn’t a big deal if it’s just a day or two, usually. But right now, at seven months pregnant, just the one day that my husband is gone, I find myself needing to adjust the pace.
So, what does that mean exactly? Well, of course it will mean different things to different moms. But for me, it means that I won’t do as much housework today as I normally do. It means I won’t go out of my way to change all the sheets in the house. It means that if I don’t feel like doing the dishes after lunch, and then asking for help or even leaving them til tomorrow will be just fine. Because it’s all on me. It’s vitally mportant for me to sustain my energy so that I can be with my children all day, all the way til bedtime, alone. Maybe my house won’t be so clean in the morning, but my children will be taken care of.
So, slow the pace. Conserve your energy when you know you need to. It’s the smart thing to do.
And housework will still be around for me when I’m an old lady, but my children will only be children once.
