As a mother of three active children, a wife, housecleaner, laundress, dog mom, homework helper, occasional substitute teacher, gardener, canner, etc I often forget that I am not superwoman. This is a common ailment of the majority of woman today, I think (and maybe some men too).
The biggest thing I have had to learn since being afflicted with fibromyalgia is that I can no longer do everything that I want to even everything that I have to do. While it seems like common sense- do only what you are able to, how many of us can live by this rule? The house cannot clean itself, the kids cannot always fend for themselves, the laundry fairy often forgets to hit your house and honestly you want to pull your fair weight in the household, at work, and in life. It can be frustrating to learn that what once was easy, now is hard.
It is a difficult lesson but it soon becomes apparent that when you over do, it can actually set you back even further than you were before. This can become a vicious circle where you will never get ahead and never win.
So what have I learned? It is okay for the laundry to pile up for a day. It is okay for the floor to have some dog hair on it. It is okay for the kids to learn to pick up their own bathroom (I am still waiting for this to happen with any frequency but have learned to praise them when they do decide to do it). It is okay. Just don't let things get completely out of hand, that is a whole new story and stress.
After a crazy day in 3rd grade yesterday with 27 kids.....it is okay if I sat down with my feet up instead of doing laundry. It is okay that I made my husband go and get subs for dinner instead of cooking. Believe me, I earned the break!
Thank you for stopping by to visit me here on the hill. Let me know you stopped by- leave me a comment or better yet, follow me here on the hill.
The biggest thing I have had to learn since being afflicted with fibromyalgia is that I can no longer do everything that I want to even everything that I have to do. While it seems like common sense- do only what you are able to, how many of us can live by this rule? The house cannot clean itself, the kids cannot always fend for themselves, the laundry fairy often forgets to hit your house and honestly you want to pull your fair weight in the household, at work, and in life. It can be frustrating to learn that what once was easy, now is hard.
It is a difficult lesson but it soon becomes apparent that when you over do, it can actually set you back even further than you were before. This can become a vicious circle where you will never get ahead and never win.
So what have I learned? It is okay for the laundry to pile up for a day. It is okay for the floor to have some dog hair on it. It is okay for the kids to learn to pick up their own bathroom (I am still waiting for this to happen with any frequency but have learned to praise them when they do decide to do it). It is okay. Just don't let things get completely out of hand, that is a whole new story and stress.
After a crazy day in 3rd grade yesterday with 27 kids.....it is okay if I sat down with my feet up instead of doing laundry. It is okay that I made my husband go and get subs for dinner instead of cooking. Believe me, I earned the break!
Thank you for stopping by to visit me here on the hill. Let me know you stopped by- leave me a comment or better yet, follow me here on the hill.
Learning how to not overdo it, that is my lesson plan for the moment. Due to overexercising/pushing myself too hard I now have tendonitis in both knees, which means no training, no boot camp, nothing more than slow pedaling on the bike or slowly walking on the treadmill. I am not a take-it-slow person.
ReplyDeleteIt is very hard to take it slow- especially when you are used to doing it all! I still struggle some days and just have to remember to tell myself that it is okay to have some quiet time or a lazy day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!!
Ummmm, I don't have fibro and I do this. :) I think as moms we have to learn that we really can't do it all, and that's okay.
ReplyDeleteI agree- one doesn't need to suffer from a health issue to heed this lesson. I think I found it so hard to let my kids see that I wasn't super mom and that I couldn't do everything I wanted for them.
ReplyDelete