Any other moms out there struggling right now to make it through the day?

Our normal routines have been turned upside down, many of us have been asked to homeschool our kids so they don’t fall behind as schools are closed indefinitely, and throw working from home or still having to go to work on top of that PLUS the fact that you can’t send your kids outside to run off some energy, and you’ve got yourself one seemingly impossible situation.

I’m a mom of two little girls, ages 4 and 18 months. They love their routines. My 4-year-old is a little social butterfly who thrives at school and craves playdates and social activities. My 18-month-old is a tiny tornado with a sassy little attitude that must be entertained at all times or destruction ensues. Now that all of their activities have been canceled as well as our childcare, for the time being, they’re literally bouncing off the walls in our home.

And I’m still working from home full time, busier than ever, with a physician husband who still has to go treat patients day in and day out all while hoping he doesn’t bring COVID-19 home with him to the whole family.

And I know many of you mamas out there have it far worse than me. Whether you’re new at working from home and are struggling to focus, have lost your job and worry how long it will be until things return to normal, or have no one to take care of your kids when you’re still required to go to your essential job every day, it’s hard.

We’re doing the best we can to make sure our kids don’t sense our anxiety. To take care of our families. To find a new sense of normalcy and create our own in-home routines.

But we’re stressed. We’re worried. And we can’t do it all.

THAT’S OKAY

And you know what? That’s okay! Life as we know it has been completely turned upside down. You’re allowed to be frustrated, to be mad, to be upset that your kids are home all day every day without feeling guilty.

You’re allowed to lose your cool every once in a while and not beat yourself up about it.

You’re allowed to leave your house messy, with crumbs and toys all over the floors so you can focus on your work for the 12 minutes you have before the next snack request.

And go ahead and turn on Frozen 2 for the third time today even though you used to limit screen time to one hour per day.

Give yourself a break. Shower yourself with grace. You’re doing the best you can, and these circumstances are tough, whatever they look like for you.

GRACE, NOT PERFECTION

Focus on grace, not perfection.

Don’t focus on being perfect. Focus on doing the best you can. Let things that don’t matter as much go for the time being.

Make a list of all the things you care about right now. Of all the things you want to be able to accomplish every day.

Circle your top 5 and make those your primary focus each day. If you get to more, great! If you get to less, that’s okay too, there’s always tomorrow.

Lower your standards for yourself and let go of what doesn’t matter.

And go ahead and leave your house messy (no one is coming over anyway!).

My point is we all need a little grace right now, and the person we need it from is ourselves.

You’re doing great, mama. You’ll get in a new routine soon, and things will begin to feel like normal. You’ll get the hang of this.

And in the meantime, all your kids are going to remember is that their mom is choosing to show up for them and prioritize them daily. The last thing you need to be is perfect, because to them, you already are.

ITN Marketing Manager
Lauren Jansen