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I'm plagued with Perfect Mom Syndrome. No, I'm not perfect...I just think I should be. I'm not quite sure what perfect looks like, but I'm fairly sure Perfect Mom doesn't have unfolded clothes plopped all over her bed, Transformers piled on the floor, dishes on the table, and a kid plugged into the tv. Certainly Perfect Mom isn't still in her pajamas. Heck, Perfect Mom is up at 5 am, everyone is fed a perfectly balanced breakfast with all organic food, dressed in their ironed clothes (underwear is also ironed, of course), the house is clean, children are practically perfect, and the dog never makes messes. Oh, and the cat is potty trained.
This week has been hard for me. Lots of things are changing and I tend to freak out with change. I'm emotionally drained, prone to tears, feeling a bit frantic and overwhelmed. I am failing miserably at being Perfect Mom. I'm also doing a piss poor job at taking care of myself. Instead of sitting for a minute praying or reading, or listening to music, or just being still, I am running around striving for the Perfect Mom Award. Not only am I not even in the running for the Perfect Mom Award, I am also super tired.
And so I announce a new holiday. This holiday doesn't just come once a year - it happens as often as we need it.
WOOO-HOOOOO!! Taking care of me holiday!! I will tell you something else I've had to do... I've had to DECIDE that having clean laundry makes me happy--which it does!! But that it makes me happier than other time-sucking things in my life. When I "remember" that having an empty sink and dishes put away makes ME happy and that's what my goal is, I tend to be more relaxed. And there's a balance, of course... we cannot constantly be at our work --for a myriad of reasons... Kids need us, we need a break...
ReplyDeleteI think there are custom fixes for each of us too. When I'm stressed out and someone tells me to exercise, I use up the rest of my energy for the day--exercising gives me more energy? Nope, not on days like that. It saps the rest of what I have available. And that's me. It always has been. Whatever anybody says, they're all suggestions... some will work, some won't. I think that's another syndrome of Super Mom, that we think that EVERYTHING that works for someone else ought to work for us. And there are others who judge us according to that same standard.
There. A novella. ;) Love you!!