Monday, January 28, 2013

Earthly Mother

You guys. It is 6:50 a.m. and I just peeled myself out of my gloriously warm bed to sit in the dark and blog. Why? Because a couple of weeks ago I had a large-ish freak out about all of the things in my life that have fallen by the wayside in the midst of having four small children. And I realized that in order to do these things (things for me--blogging, playing the piano, running, sewing), I was going to have to make some sacrifices and be a better planner. So I sat down and prepared a rigorous weekly schedule to follow. It was like being a missionary again, planning carefully for optimum productivity. And I am super excited about it. Mondays at 6:30= blogging, so here I go. I know, I am kind of a big dork, but I don't care.

2013 should have started with a bang. We set some great goals. But the new year also brought two viruses, so we spent the first half of January battling coughs, fevers, and the barfs. Awesome. It all lifted, thankfully, just in time to fly to Phoenix to be with family. Do you know what is glorious? Phoenix, Arizona in January. The sunshine did my soul so much good. We played with cousins, swam in the pool, hiked in the desert, and frequented all of our favorite food establishments that we don't have here in Smalltown, USA. (In-n-Out and Jamba, anyone?) And here's what I realized on vacation: I am too serious. I need to relax more, have fun more, smile more, laugh more, take my children on more adventures. Better put that on the new schedule (she said with a wink).

People ask me all the time what it's like to have four kids. I still maintain that the adjustment from zero children to one child is the hardest. But having four 6 and under is a bit of a bear as well. Especially the two babies part. And I know I'm not the first to do this, and lots of you out there have more kids, spaced even tighter. Here's the deal-- it's a bit crazy, but I love it. And I chose it. So I'm trying hard to own it. About six years ago I started this blog. Reflecting and writing helped me realize what kind of mother I wanted to be and that if I wanted to be an awesome 'career mother,' I needed to throw myself into it the same way I had with my mission and my teaching career. Now I'm deep in the trenches and can hardly remember how life felt without four dependents. I don't know that I'd call myself awesome yet, but I'm hard at work.

Thanks for reading, anyone who hasn't given up on this little blog. :)
See you next Monday morning.

Now, speaking of little families, try and watch this one with dry eyes:

5 comments:

Robyn said...

i am all for schedules! you will get so much more done (in the little time that you have)see you next monday!

Melissa said...

Good for you! I'm lousy at schedules, even though I know how to set them up and follow them. It takes discipline to follow one, and at my age, I am still learning about self-discipline. Thanks for sticking with blogging. And for the video too! That's the sixth or seventh time I've seen someone post it, so this morning I clicked on yours to watch. I'm so glad I did. Have a great week.

Christina said...

I can so relate to your thoughts on 4 kids. Zero to 1 was definitely the most difficult, but 4 has thrown me for a loop. I still love reading your posts, Anne! I'm looking forward to a weekly dose of blog from you!

Heidi Cloward said...

Anne! You are such a great example! Keep working hard!

Kate said...

love this. good job anne!