Keep Out

Something happened to me the other day. I have suspicions, but I really don't know what came over me. I didn't even realize what had happened until dinner time. Then it hit me.

I was crabby like no other. I was exhausted. I felt as though a truck had slammed into me. Then I realized...

Somehow. Someway. I had channeled Supermom. I wasn't even trying to. She snuck into my house. She threw on the costume and away I went. Holy cow.

Ask anyone who knows me. I am not a fan of Supermom. I think that she has a way of making other moms feel less about themselves. She causes us normal, average moms to feel like we are below average. If only we could do it all. If only our kids were always clean. Our houses were always clean. Our kids were always well behaved. We would have dinner on the table when our husbands came home. Sex every night. We would be perfect. Our lives would be perfect. We would be able to leap through the grocery store in a single bound...

I used to try and do it. You know. Be Supermom. I thought that's what we were supposed to do. Then I realized that is NOT what God has for us. It's just not. It's not about having everything perfect. It's about being the best mom and wife that we can. It's about teaching our children about God. It's about shining God's light. It's about having God's best for us and our family. It is NOT about being perfect.

The thing about Supermom is that she does not rely on God. She relies on herself. She is the superhero. Sorry Supermom. God is the only Superhero.

I realized the other night that I was so tired because I had done entirely too much.

10 loads of laundry at 1 hour and 15 minutes per dryer cycle

Folding said loads EVERY hour and 15 minutes... that's more often than you nurse a newborn!

Cleaning 2 of the 3 bathrooms... Cory was doing haircuts that night in the 3rd

Dusting the entire house... knocking some cobwebs down along the way

Cleaning the baseboards in the bathrooms

Making our bed... yes, this is NOT normal. Sorry Mom.

Playing with my sweet children

Cleaning out my washer... my sweet 13 year old had puked all over his bed the night before. I actually had to CLEAN the nasties from my washer. Yuck!

This list may seem like nothing to some and way too much for others. For me, it was WAY too much. I was exhausted. It took me 12 1/2 hours to do all that laundry and I still wasn't done. I was so tired that all I could come up with for dinner was baked potatoes. As they were cooking, I realized we had no sour cream. What's a tired mom to do?

My poor sweet family. Our cupboards are bare. My mind is a barren wasteland. We ended up having what my husband calls skillet. I chopped up those deliciously baked potatoes. Cooked up some chopped onion and some bacon. Shredded a little cheese and cooked it all together with some scrambled eggs. Nice. Easy. Breakfast for dinner.

What's frustrating is that I didn't even know she had taken over. Thankfully, I was able to realize it before it got really bad. Before I started putting my value in the things I had gotten done. Before I started getting frustrated because I had tried to do it all on my own.

It's just way too tiring to go it on my own. I need God. I may get exhausted even as God walks beside me. Even as He carries me. However, with Him, I get the wonderful comfort and closeness. I don't put my value in the "jobs" I do. I don't think I'm better because I got all those jobs done. I'm actually a little irritated. All it did was make me tired and crabby.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad those things are all done. Cole might be sleeping on a sheetless bed had I not. However, the way in which I went about it was all wrong. It caused me to be one tired, pooped Mommy. A mommy who collapsed into bed. A wife who was just WAY too tired. Sorry babe.

So, hopefully next time I can realize that she has snuck in the backdoor before my whole day is wasted. Wasted on chores. Yep. I just said that. Wasted. Why did she make me feel like I needed to clean the bathrooms too. Why did I need to dust and make my bed. My word. 10 loads of laundry over 12 1/2 hours was certainly enough for me. That in and of itself would have been enough. The bathrooms could have waited for another day. The dusting too for that matter. Darn that Supermom!

Stay out you crazy lady. Don't ever come back. I don't like you and you're not welcome here. God is my Superhero and I don't need you around telling me lies. Just keep out. Thank you.