Fresh Perspective

There's really nothing better than getting some time away from your children when you're a stay at home parent. Small Human is in summer camp five days a week, for just four hours a day, but it honestly helps me to recharge and allows me to see things with fresh eyes. I discovered some green paint caked into the links of my watch, and instead of being annoyed or stressed out about it, I thought, "Awww, this was from the other day when I lifted Noah into the car and he was covered in fresh green paint from one of his camp projects!" A very different reaction from the day of, when he smeared green paint all over my white car and its tan interior. I was not a happy mommy

Then this afternoon, for the first time in a very stressful and hectic couple of weeks, I finally just breathed a huge sigh of relief. Tidbit, my rabbit of 8 years is on the mend from her annual shedding/digestive troubles; both my boys are napping; I'm showered, fed, and caffeinated, and I feel, dare I say it, happy.

I adore my family, but in order to keep my sanity, I need a break. A reprieve from the whining and the crying, the nursing and the feeding; a break from being touched all day, every day, and from the constant questions and never ending needs. Don't get me wrong, the stress hasn't been erased and there is always some new stressor on the horizon, but it's now a little bit more manageable today. Sometimes, a girl just needs to think about something fun and vapid like what toenail polish she wants to put on her toes next, ya know?

Oftentimes, I wish that what I did was more valued by society. I work just as hard as people in the workforce, but being a mother and only a mother is seen as giving up on a career, giving up on one's life, or not contributing. I have no regrets whatsoever, and I can't single-handedly change the world, so I'm just going to take it one day at a time.