Being a mother is hard enough...

I sometimes find myself being the harshest judge of myself as a mother. Pinterest becomes my biggest enemy when it comes to my expectations I have of myself. My house is a mess, my children's hair isn't always brushed, my make-up is RARELY done, my laundry is in a pile in my bedroom - ON THE FLOOR - and that doesn't count the fact that I don't make a Leprechaun trap, Stephens didn't have a Christmas stocking until Christmas Eve this year, and the Elf on the Shelf pushes me over the edge.

Being a mother is a hard task. Being a stay at home mom is a hard task. Being a stay at home homeschooling mom of a first grader, a breastfeeding stay at home mom of an 8-month old is H. A. R. D. It is the most difficult thing I have ever done in my entire life. But I must say that at night, when we are saying our prayers and Chip thanks God for having the best teacher ever, my heart re-fills a little. When it is 2:00 in the morning and Stephens is awake and crying and Tony takes the time to get up and help settle him so that I can catch a little bit of an extra rest, my heart re-fills a little. When I see that Chip doesn't have the biggest and newest video game system but he and Tony are playing a mad game of Yahtzee and having a blast doing it, my heart re-fills a little. And when I feel like I am drowning in piles of laundry and dirty dishes, a house that needs vacuuming, and a bathroom that needs scrubbing, I cut myself some slack.

I see my days with my children as fleeting and brief. I know that these days will quickly be gone and I will be dealing with girlfriends, college applications, drivers' licenses, etc. Those days will be great, brief, and fleeting also, but they are not here yet. Today is before me as an opportunity to make a difference in Chip and Stephens's life and today's opportunity will only be available for today! Tomorrow will be another chance so when I mess it up today, I know that I will get a re-try when the sun comes up, but while I am at it today, I will try to do my best.

We are our own worst enemy. Mom's are hardest on other moms. DON'T BE!!! We are all fighting our own battles, have our own piles of laundry and dirty houses. Before you take the moment to criticize another mom or even yourself, consider your job your own. Consider their journey their own and one that they could use some encouragement on. I can use encouragement some days, I appreciate the compliment every now and again about how my children behave, and I try to pass those compliments and encouragement on to another mom. More than anything, consider that today is the only opportunity you have a guarantee of to be the best you can be today.

Be a blessing today - and be blessed!
Rebecca