Unnecessary Chaos

When does the chaos end?

It probably ends when the kids leave to college but, does it really? I have a pretty big gap in between all my kids and it’s crazy to see how each phase repeats itself. We went through the losing everything they took to school, fighting over homework, telling them a million times to go shower, punishing for not keeping the room clean, homework struggles, friends drama stories, boys they like, going to bed late, not eating what is served and so much more. All kids are different but, most of them go through the same stages (give or take). And just when you think you’re getting past all these stages you’re going into different ones. Between picking up and dropping off three kids, getting home to figure out what I’m going to cook, letting the dogs out, washing dishes, studying for tests, etc. I end up feeling like I was hit by a truck. I tend to do the most in the mornings because this is when I’m the most productive. In the afternoons I am worthless, I’m literally running on fumes. But, of course there is always those extra special moments when your kid remembers she/he has something due at school in the morning and you have to run out at 8:45pm to the store when they close at 9:00pm to get it for them because, god forbid we let them get a bad grade. Can you feel the stress in my voice! In my times parents let you get a bad grade in order to teach you to remember things and be responsible but, here we are, enabling them by doing everything for them and not letting them have any repercussions. What I’ve realized is that a lot of my stress and chaos is caused by ME! What! I can’t believe I just said that. We are harder on ourselves than needed, we take on more than we can handle, and we are constantly trying to be super mom. My favorite rendition of this is the movie “Bad Moms.” If you haven’t seen it, go see it with your friends, you will laugh yourself to death. We need to step back, access the situation and make drastic decisions. If my 14 year old doesn’t do her laundry then fine, let her not have clothes to wear to school on Monday morning. If my 9 year old doesn’t eat what’s on the table let her go to bed hungry, eventually she will eat it. We need to stop catering to our children and start putting our foot down. Clear our lives of unnecessary chaos. I’ll start tonight and let you know how it goes. Feel free to share your story.

Good Luck and may the motherhood fairies be with you (LOL)!