I Don't Know How She Does It

I watched the movie called 

"I Don't Know How She Does It" tonight. 

It's a movie about a working mother who is played by Sarah Jessica Parker. 

I immediately understood her feelings even though I'm at home with my kids. 

Mothers believe they have to do it all. 

We expect ourselves to enjoy our children all the time, never get mad or upset with them, NEVER raise our voices when things get crazy, cook super, keep the house cleaned, carpool, be a good friend, a great wife, a wonderful sister, a doctor, a nurse, a teacher, along with another billion other titles and above all else, always be happy and joyful. 

This is not reality. 

My goals as a mother are as followed...

Of course... this list will get longer as my boys get older I'm sure. :) 

1. Smile as much as possible. 

Pretty simple. Not much of an explanation needed really. 

2. Be human.

Allow my children to realize I am human. 

I will get sad, angry, and upset. I will cry. I will laugh. But more importantly, I will get through it. 

3. Realize I may not always like my children and thats okay. 

I will always love my children. They are the reason I breathe. But I would be lying if I said I liked them 100% of the time. (And you would too if you barked at this one!) 

4. Be a loving wife.

 I want my children to never question the love that I have for their father. I want them to desire a marriage like their parents had. 

5. Be a good friend. 

This is sometimes hard as I personally feel pulled in a billion different directions and my friends usually get what is left of me. But I want to always keep striving to be the kind of friend to MY friends that I would want my children to have as they get older. 

6. Love your siblings. 

I have some incredible siblings. Do we always get along? No. However, I want my children how important it is to always stand up for your family. Always love them. No. matter. what. 

7. Be a God Fearing Christian. 

This is the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep at night. Did I show God's love to my children today? Did I speak of Him often, or curse him for his blessings? Did I strive for agape love towards everyone I spoke too or spoke about? This is by far my most important goal as a mother. And it is by far the hardest to live up too. 

I'm sure each of us have some form of a list... New mothers may only have 1 item on their list and that's to keep your sanity. Girls... mark it off. Your sanity is gone for a while. The more children you have the more time it will be before you see it again too. However, I've found that with each child you add to your family, the more fulfilling your life becomes. For some 1 or 2 children will make your cup runeth over.... for others (like myself) it may be 4 or 5. Whether you are raising 1 child or 10 children, give yourself a break. Cut yourself some slack and enjoy as much as you possible can. 

The bad days will always come. You WILL feel like a terrible mother at times and you will think you have surely destined your children to a lifetime of therapy.  

But they will turn out fine. And they will love you for all the times you got it right and all the times you got it wrong. 

:)