I read an interesting article the other day about Satan stealing your motherhood. In it, the author talked about how we as mothers allow this evilness into our hearts and soul without even knowing we've done it. We reach a brink, a breaking point, and then yell at anything in your path. Your child, the dog (we don't have one), the vacuum as you accidentally suck up a Lego you didn't know was in your path, the Hot Wheel you step on for all the same reasons as the Lego, or the fact that you are the only that can seem to find anything that's lost because no one actually looks for it. It's no ones fault, you know. It's just you. Taking out your frustration because life wasn't perfect in that moment.
The other interesting take away is that we, not even mothers but women in general, compare ourselves to the other women around us. It could be the ones that post all the perfect images to Instagram which allow you to believe that life for them is perfect. It could be the best friend you've had for years because she appears to be the type of woman to get whatever it is she wants, without really trying. A fellow Kindergarten mom who has the most beautiful hair you've ever seen and the cutest style that you know you could never pull off. The new mom down the street who seemed to drop all of her baby weight within a matter of months where you still carry yours from your child that you birthed five years ago. Apparently, Satan thrives on this.
And why do we allow ourselves to do this? Why can't we be more like men and just shake it off? Or Taylor Swift for that matter? Men don't really compare themselves to other men. They throw on a ball cap and go instead of using copious amounts of dry shampoo to mask their dirty hair. They don't fret about the imperfect moment that you seem to always capture on film because they are too busy actually living in that perfect moment. I'm constantly whining to my husband about these scenarios and he is constantly telling me to stop using Facebook. Get off Instagram. He declares that social media is the cause for so much angst and he's probably right. A friend of mine took a break from Facebook a little over a year ago because she couldn't take the stress. The perfect mom, the depressing status updates, and the opinionated posts that will never change anyone's mind. And she's probably better off for it! But is it really social media or Satan who we've allowed in the door?
So what do we do? Since reading that article, I've been trying to take deep breaths before possibly losing my cool. Living in the moment, imperfect and all, and laughing with my son over the sleeve that's covered in dry snot instead of scolding him for not using a Kleenex. Wiping up the crumbs under the kitchen table because they aren't going to do it themselves. I'm trying to embrace my curls, at times, because there are very few of us who actually have them. I'm trying to capture the photos that have zero smiles, tongues sticking out, or that contain action poses that have nothing to do with the scenario. And posting them, instead of the ones that are filtered and perfect. Be the imperfect mother, and woman, that I am. And not apologize for it.
Do you find that you deal with this issue? Are you a mother that truly lets things go or do you harbor all of it and then break? And when you do break, what do you do to relieve the stress? Release the evil? Sending Satan packing.
XO,
Andrea
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