Again, nothing about surrogacy; however, I feel the need to remind others that you have no idea what a person is going through, so just be KIND. Be kind always!
I've been doing some soul searching after overhearing a mother who does an astronomical amount of volunteer work with one of our kids' activities discussing with another mom about someone just like me...as I was in full force doing my volunteer job for the morning. "I just don't understand who these parents are who help out just a couple of times and leave the rest for all of us regulars." was something similar to what she actually said. This got me thinking - thinking about who I imagined myself to be before I had children...
I thought I would be the mom who is just like you.
I thought I would be the one who's a part of every single booster club for each of our kids' organizations.
I thought I would be the mom who volunteered in each of their classrooms every single week.
I thought I would play a significant role in the PTO.
I thought I would be the cool mom that would know all of our kids' friends AND acquaintances by name.
I thought our house would be the hang out place; the one where there was an endless amount of soda, pizza, and snacks.
I thought we'd have campfires every single Friday and kids crashing in our living room for the night. I thought I'd have hot homemade caramel rolls ready for all of those kids to wake up to just like my mom made for my friends and me.
I thought I would have endless energy.
I thought I was an extrovert at that time in my life.
I thought I would have all of my shit together.
It turns out I'm nothing like I imagined myself to be. I'm ok with that though. What I didn't know then that I know now is that I would come to honor my needs far above anyone outside of our household (obviously our kids' needs come first)...
I honor the fact that I'm a highly sensitive person and that I get overwhelmed easily.
I honor the fact that I'm an introvert.
I honor the fact that our 12 day old baby almost died at the same time my husband was supposed to leave for Iraq and I haven't slept a full night in nearly 15 years.
I honor the fact that I've overcome PTSD.
I honor the fact that you see me at many of our kids' games, meets, shows, etc. because that brings me so much joy, but volunteering is way too much for me.
I honor the fact that when I do volunteer that I'm going way out of my comfort zone and it takes a toll on me.
I honor the fact that I had NO IDEA how much work it would be to be a parent.
I honor the fact that every single child comes with some kind of challenge.
I honor the fact that not all of our kids are neurotypical and I need to be present more than I ever imagined.
I honor the fact that I've spent years of research and implementation on supplementation, diet, and alternative/holistic medicine. I never imagine that I'd be researching CBD oils and fecal transplants! I'm pretty sure that before I had kids that my thoughts on medical cannabis were very much in opposition to it.
I honor the fact that I know the staff at our schools on a deeper level that I ever hoped to.
I honor the fact that I set boundaries.
I honor the fact that I don't need many friends in my life. I pick quality over quantity.
I honor the fact that I learned how to say "no" and not feel bad about it.
I honor the fact that devoting as much time as I do to running allows me to escape my brain and find my soul.
I honor the fact the I recognize what I need before giving to others, outside of our family, so I can be a good human, wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, and employee.
I honor the fact that I'm maxed out and I recognize it.
I honor the fact that I'm nothing like I thought I'd be and I'm ok with that.
I honor the fact that I'm not you and you're not me. You have no idea what's going on inside our home and the stressors that life has brought; nor do I know yours. I respect you and I'm deeply GRATEFUL for the fact that you spend an exorbitant amount of your time volunteering for our kids' activities. Thank you, THANK YOU for all you do.
No comments:
Post a Comment