super mom

June 11, 2012 glaucoma, Kristi 3 Comments

I have a confession to make.

On those (thankfully rare) crazy busy days, when we have more places to be at one time than I have hands, when we somehow survive the day in one piece AND I manage to get a healthy meal on the table for dinner, the kids all get a bath and I actually supervise everyone brushing their teeth, sometimes, just sometimes I get a complex.

photo courtesy of iStock

“It’s well deserved,” I tell myself. After all, keeping the ship running in my role as domestic engineer with four littles packed in age like sardines isn’t exactly a simple task.

On those days my little daydream makes me feel better and gives me encouragement and energy to face the next day.

And if it totally stopped there, I suppose it wouldn’t be hurting anyone.

But sometimes that vision gets a bit carried away and causes me to loose sight of my real role. I can get so busy in my thoughts of “saving the world” (or at least my house), that I easily look past what really matters.

Take for instance the day I recently spent at Duke Eye Care center with my little girl.

Yes, I said day. Not appointment, but day. From 8 that morning until 5 that afternoon, she was having the pressure checked in her glaucoma affected eye once an hour, on the hour. There’s some big fancy name for the test series, but that day my word for it was “UGH!”

All I could think about was how far behind I’d be at home in my role as supermom. Dishes would be piled up, dinner would be late, laundry needed to be folded, and I couldn’t help but wonder how were the boys doing with my mom. Would my friend remember to pick up my big girl from school at the end of the day and oh goodness I needed to get caught up on my responsibilities at An Orphan’s Wish.

I could go on and on, but it is safe to summarize and say my attitude about the day totally stunk. I had so much going on in my brain, yet there I sat, dutifully playing fairies and absentmindedly coloring while compiling a major “to do” list instead.

We managed to catch a tiny break in testing and had just enough time to run down to the cafeteria (oh joy) and grab a slice of pizza for DQ and a package of vegetable sushi for me. I was in such a cross mood that I was already two long gulps into my diet coke when I noticed that my little one was bowing her head.

Then her words brought me crashing out of superhero status and back to the real world.

“…and thank you for this special day with Mommy today and that we got to go out to lunch for a treat…”

(As I’m sure you can guess, fairies became fun and not just “tour of duty” after our lunch break.)

So, in reflection, I’m not really a superhero.

But to my little girl, even with all my failings, I can be a super mom. All I have to do is get over myself and focus on her.

And even it means being stripped of my cape, I’m okay with that. Our house may not be ready for a photo shoot for Better Homes and Gardens and a frozen pizza just may pass for a healthy meal a little more often these days. I’ve been reminded again what is important though ~ and just how fleeting these years with my children really are.

May you also be a super mom instead of a super hero to your littles today!





3 responses to “super mom”

  1. Julie says:

    Getting over myself is sometimes the biggest hurdle! And I must say frozen pizza sounds a bit healthier than the dinners we’ve had lately 🙂

  2. Amy Murphy says:

    Kristi, that was beautifully written! I so needed that. I was doing the “there’s not enough time in the week for all I NEED to do” spazzing just yesterday. After which, my little boy decided to be the most precious little helper I’ve seen in a long time. I’m still spazzing that my house isn’t clean & is getting dirtier, I still have a lot of renovation left to do from the flood in the fall, I have a list of projects longer than my arm, and I don’t contribute to the finances in our household; but I know that spending time with my boy is more important than all of those. I’m sure I’ll need reminding VERY OFTEN, though. 🙂

  3. Laine Ferrill says:

    Oh Kristi…you spoke straight to me. THANK YOU! I needed that reminder. It feels free-ing to take the cape off! 🙂

    “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,” Rom. 13:14

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