Being a Mom in 2019 is weird.
If you look at social media you see motherhood portrayed in 2 different ways.
On one hand you see super moms who seem to have perfected the job. They love to show us their clean kids with adorable outfits and brushed hair. These moms love to do crafts and have picnics at the park. They are room moms at school and PTA members and they always throw the best birthday parties. They are fit and love Jesus. They are happy and kind. They make perfection seem attainable, but yet completely unattainable at the same time.
On the other hand you have the moms that are leading the crusade of low bar living. They proudly show us their dirty dishes and hair that is on its 3rd day of dry shampoo. They wear Target work out clothes every day, but laugh at the suggestion that they actually work out. They want us to know that it is okay to be less than perfect and to survive on nothing but "Coffee and Jesus." These moms are advocates for grace and will fight anyone who suggests they need to put on real pants for carpool line.
I was thinking about these 2 moms today as I was driving around with my post school drop off Starbucks. Mornings at my house are so loud and rushed and just plain crazy. There is always a fight over clothes, a disagreement about oral hygiene, a complaint about the lunch options, and almost always someone leaves the house in tears. When I finally drop the last kid off, my favorite thing to do is get coffee and just drive around in my quiet van. I know there are chores and emails and a day waiting for me when I get home. So I put off going home as long as possible. I just drive around and replay the shenanigans of the morning over and over in my head.
And this morning it hit me. We are all a combination of the 2 moms. Or rather, we are all on the Mom Spectrum. Some days we are a little closer to Perfect Mom and some days we lean heavily toward the Survival Mom. We don't have to hate one to love the other. We can embrace both. I can embrace both.
So that feels good. Today I'm leaning more on the Dry Shampoo side of thing, but with any luck tomorrow will be a "sweet notes in the lunchbox" and "finish my to do list" kind of day. I'm excited about the possibilities.
Summer is coming! I can't wait!
