There’s No Such Thing As SuperMom (At least not in this house.)
I piled way too many things on my plate yesterday. I’d scheduled a playdate in the morning, a late lunch with a friend in the afternoon, and consignment sale drop-off in the evening – all on my own since Jon was going to be gone. It was too much. I realized it the night before (at 9pm when I still hadn’t even started tagging my consignment stuff!) and had to make the hard decision to change my plans.
I talked with Jon and we decided that the consignment sale was just too much right now. I would have had to stay up another 2+ hours tagging things, plus figure out how to load it all into the car without taking the car seats out. I was pretty bummed about it last night, because consignment sales really help out financially for us, but it was the best decision. I needed to sleep, and there will be more consignment sales in the future.
I am no SuperMom, no matter how much I try to be.
In my mind, SuperMom can do everything. Bake cookies and keep a clean house and serve a hot dinner with a smile and always, always, always be patient. She’s good at balancing everything and keeping a happy attitude while she’s at it. She’s good to go on all fronts. She can say yes to everyone because she can do it all.
Not me. I can’t do it all and I surely can’t say yes to everyone.
This might not be a big deal for you – maybe you’re great at saying no to things – but for me, this is a new skill that I’m still strengthening. I have realized how vital it is to protect the white space in my days, and I’m still practicing how to do that right.
I’ve been doing this for a few solid months now, this practice of taking an honest look at my schedule and making the hard decisions. For me, it comes back to my priorities – what are the things that are important, and how does my schedule reflect those things?
My priorities in this season are my faith, my family, and white space. Yes, white space. It’s not that I need extra time to be lazy, or watch another episode of Friends on Netflix. No, I need white space just so I can think. So I can respond instead of react. So I can practice patience with my kids and myself instead of crafting a life that insists that I hurry all the time.
Sometimes the best thing you can say is “Nope, I’m sorry, I just can’t do that right now.” Peace in my home is more important than productivity in these years of raising little ones. And keeping some white space in my schedule allows us to keep peace in our home on a regular basis.
We are (always) changing up the way we do things here right now. Our schedule is changing based on some big (HUGE) decisions we’ve made, ones that I’ll tell you about soon. And a year ago, these changes would have sent me spiraling into overwhelm.
Now, I’ve got my priorities nailed down and they are staying constant through the change. Knowing where my focus needs to be helps keep me from getting swept away in everything I could be doing, like taking a high chair and a bag (or six) full of clothes to a consignment sale. Now, I’m able to keep breathing deeply, and take charge of our days, instead of letting the jam-packed schedule run me over like a Mack truck.
I realized this morning, when I woke up relieved instead of stressed, that this is why I created the Enjoy Your Life Course.
The steps that the Lord has led me through in order to pare down my life to make time for what really matters are steps that can just as easily apply to your life too. And I so desperately want you to have a peace about your days. It has changed so much for me and for my family!
I’m still reading through your answers to the Reader Survey I sent out last week (You can still take it here, if you haven’t yet! I’d love to hear from you!), and over and over again I hearing how busy you are. How you’re not sure what direction you should be taking, or what you’re supposed to be doing with your life. You’re stressed and overwhelmed and you’d love for someone to help you find your way out.
Can I help you with that? I ask that in the quietest way possible, because if you’ve been here for any length of time, you know I don’t think that I’m any better than anyone else. (Usually it’s the opposite, actually.) And I don’t want you to think that I’m doing this perfectly and I think this is the secret to that picture perfect life. I’m not, and I don’t. But I have seen first-hand the increase in PEACE and JOY that has come with inviting the Lord to simplify and focus my days. And I’d really love to share that process with you.
The Enjoy Your Life Course officially launches on Monday, and I would love for you to join me in the first session! Just subscribe here if you’d like to be the first to know when it’s available. (And to get the best deal, because subscribers get a special discount on the first day!)
And in the meantime, don’t try to be SuperMom. Just be YOU. And maybe save your used baby clothes for another consignment sale.
Kayse Pratt serves Christian women as a writer + designer, creating home + life management resources that help those women plan their days around what matters most. She’s created the most unique planner on the market, helped over 400 women create custom home management plans, and works with hundreds of women each month inside her membership, teaching them how to plan their days around what matters most. When she’s not designing printables or writing essays, you’ll find Kayse homeschooling her kids, reading a cheesy novel with a giant cup of tea in hand, or watching an old show from the 90’s with her husband, who is her very best friend.
I don’t know, Kayse. A home with a mom who doesn’t over-commit, who creates white space to think, and puts God and family first sounds like a home with a super mom to me!
Oh, responding instead of reacting. I get that because I react way too often. Good stuff, as always, friend. And I’m proud of you for letting something go. I know that’s hard to do.