I promise you, you will get lots of things wrong this week.
You will lose your temper. You will say words you wish you could swallow.
You will be frustrated and frazzled and tired and unable to face the dishes in the sink. You will feel scared and uncertain and unable to take one more step forward, rock through one more frustrated feeding time, clean up one more mess by the dog, the toddler, the hamster who spews shredded tissue all over the world.
You will question your sanity and your wall colors and want to make a McDonald’s, drive-through, hot fudge sundae run at midnight.
You will ache without being able to identify why or exactly where.
Your body will just ache.
But you will push in the chairs. You will vacuum. Again. You will make it with all three kids to the doctor’s appointments. You will schedule meetings and make dinner out of left over chicken and lettuce.
You will talk to a friend.
You will love on someone’s baby.
You will do the quiet work of the life long heroes. The people who aren’t in it for the glory. The people who are in it for the journey.
So come Friday, it’s OK to feel tired.
Because you done good. You done real good.
You had me at “McDonald’s drive-thru hot fudge sundae”. I haven’t had one of those in years, but all of the sudden…………………… mmmmmmm!
Sounds like my week all summed up into today (no joke)
Took my eldest to have four teeth removed, with 4 other children in tow! I survived, by God’s grace. Ha ha!!
It’s good to remember my worth isn’t found in my failings or success–but only in Christ. (The more I write it out, the more it sinks in ;))
Yes, what Christin said. I feel like this only after this Monday.
yes. we can do this, this crumb-cleaning, question-answering, wound-healing work that he has given us. are the pics from jockey’s ridge?
ohhh needed this today.
thank you.
Thanks for this. I’m five weeks pregnant with number three and I felt awful today. Thank goodness for awesome husbands who watch kids and fix lunch before work. I feel like I’m not going to be able to do this with one more. I feel at my limit with two and number three was a surprise.
Jennifer,
Let godly sisters lift you up! Ask for help! You are beautiful and ENOUGH. The third may be a surprise to you but not to God. He is sovereign and will equip you in the weeks/months to come. Keep on trudging along!
Super love!!! So in need to hear this;) thank you
It’s been the last two months here, and really bad this week. Ugh…Praying for provision.
Oh these Jonah weeks! Even as it all spills downhill, we can cling to the One who rolls down with us, picks us up, dusts us off and smiles at the beauty of us.
Ps: that McDonald’s sundae run, did that the other afternoon while I was supposed to be getting milk from the store. #truestory ;)
I love that you used a hashtag in a comment.
Thanks for this. Because last Friday, I was spent! Guest that’s just evidence that I “done good.”
I love the hashtagging in comments too #Awesome And I totally hit up McD’s for a little sundae action recently too. And then ate it all in the car before getting the kids so no one would know bwahahahhahaha
Yep, last week was like that for me. I cried, I laughed, I yelled, but most of all I LIVED. Thank you for reminding me that I’m not in this journey alone.
Thank you for the reminder…it’s only Monday and it can make you feel like you’ve failed. Hopefully, God will give me another chance tomorrow to do better! :)
But Lisa…
It’s only TUESDAY!!!
Girl, my Thursday last week was a whole month of crazy wrapped into a single day. I’m guessing if someone’s Monday starts that way, it will be a hard week to face. Cheering ’em on over here – cheering ’em on!
Yes, indeed! The funniest for me was the chicken and lettuce leftovers. How did you know what I made for dinner?!!! :)
Oh, thank you for this post. I needed it. I so needed it. It made me smile and remember that everything I do is worth it….even though no one else seems to notice.
These are all so true, but I especially say a loud ‘amen’ to the McDonald’s sundae part! What is it about summer that gives me that craving??? Thanks for sharing your heart. :)
This: “You will ache without being able to identify why or exactly where.”
Again, you are on the pulse of what it means to be a mom.
Love the Bafana Bafana shirt, btw… and that you keep your links and love for South Africa so alive. SA needs all the love it can get… :-)
I have a cold, in July. Wanted to quit being a mom yesterday so I could get some sleep. This post helps. Thanks.
Thanks for the empathy. I have my moments where I wish I could have a day off, the girls over, a g&t and big deep sigh of relief BUT I know those times will come at the weekend or holidays, once I’ve earned it. Here’s to Friday!
You put this so well…it’s just so true for all of us, isn’t it? Thanks for writing and sharing this!
I was going to say, are the pics from Sleeping Bear Dunes? The endless hills, and the blue sky?!
Great post btw. Very encouraging. We are all facing the same challenges. Keep on.=)
Yes ma’am – they sure are!
“So come Friday, it’s OK to feel tired.” Thank goodness. Because I always am tired by Friday.
Goodness your words are a God-send. I literally was sitting her reminding myself I shouldn’t cry at work. Of course I shouldn’t cry at home. I shouldn’t cry on the drive to work. I have many words to swallow from a Monday night stress-out. And then there are the feelings of guilt for the second serving for baring my anger and stress so unproductively. For us it was the cat that threw up. The baby that pooped down my shirt then threw up in my hair when we stood up to go get a new diaper. The pen-drive cap that went missing. The lap top that dropped to the ground. The bottle of kefir that the 3 year old now likes to open and empty on to the floor in the attempt to help herself. The early morning grocery store run to restock. The dr appt for the ear infection followup that became apparant after driving said child to the mountains for a “weekend vacation” (and I use that term lightly considering how not a treat a child with an eardrum needing to burst is)thus triggering the bursting of said eardrum. I wandered the house like a momma-maniac last night barking clean-up orders that no one followed until it was time to kiss the tired heads goodnight, nurse the baby and tell the 5 year old that I had already sprayed the “monster spray” 5 minutes earlier before she had gotten back up for the third time. It was indeed a Monday. Thank goodness for Tuesday.
Oh Cole! That’s a whole lot of crazy packed into a short window. Praying that you find peace and maybe some chocolate waiting for you today. You can do it. You are doing it. You’re a hero.
Cheering us on you are! And inspiring me to write it out and get it out and be done with it and voila- what luck- Lovey called and wants to go to lunch- some Indian food is waiting….mmmmmm…
Wow! This blog post just expressed exactly how I feel today. OVERWHELMED! Thank you so much for speaking to me today. Now, on with the vacuuming and cleaning of messes.
I seriously am going to read this every day this week! Truth in every single line of this post… And in the comments, too. We are coming off 2 weeks of Grandma/cousin camp, so there is some detox going on and it’s rough! (and I’m adjusting to all the chaos again)
Thank you Lisa Jo for your words of encouragement!
But it’s only Tuesday????!!!! I’m printing this out and putting it on my mirror, in my craft room, in my car, on the refrigerator!
Even grandma’s have those days… it is just plain hard work. It is worth it. But still very hard.
I echo all of the thank yous above, and I take comfort in knowing how many mamas identified with this. Some days I just do not want to be a mom. But I absolutely, positively cannot picture my life, or the world in general, without my two kids bouncing through. I agree, Lisa Jo, Parenting = Sanctification.
Such a good word.
Oh my. Yes and yes and amen. Just wrote about the exact same thing today, because already it’s been a hard, hard week. Thank you.
The Mothers of All Battles: http://elevateideas.com/2012/07/24/the-mothers-of-all-battles/
Thank you so much for this post and for the ebook “The Cheerleader for Tired Moms”. You see, I too am the mother of 3. I have a 2.5 year old daughter, a 1.5 year old daughter, and a 5 month old daughter, and I’m exhausted! I just read the book a few minutes ago and it, along with this post, have helped me tremendously. I cried through the book because it was so real. I felt like I could have written it. Even if I’m the only one ever helped by your posts, please don’t stop! God is using you!!!! Oh yeah, I’m also far away from family (5 hours) so I relate to you on that as well.
B-E-A-utiful post. Great pick-me-up. Thank you!
Thanks! Have had a bad couple days this week!
This is the pep talk I needed yesterday! :) It’s just as useful today and will be needed again tomorrow. Thanks a bunch. You done good, too!