JBF Corporate Blog



Embrace The Chaos
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
By: Michelle Wiginton

I LOVE Facebook, have an active JBF Facebook Fan Page and I am always buzzing about online listening to moms and what is going on in their lives. One common theme for almost every mom (depending on the week) is pondering how to manage the chaos of children, work, hubby, church, hobbies…this list is LONG and varies each day, but you get the picture…or is it a mirror?

Moms are busy people. They are resourceful, passionate and professional. From working at home, to working at a business, to being a momprenuer…women are doing more and more, with less and less time. Thus, enters the chaos that comes from too much to do with too little time to do it.
Imagine you’re late for a teleconference with a new consulting client; you’ve got cramps, a crying baby, a toddler that has just painted your backseat with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a first grader who just hopped into your van with a note that says three other children in his class went home with lice today. Your stress-o-meter just went from slightly psycho to acute insanity!
We’ve all had these days! You run out of cash. You need a medical insurance card that you can’t find. You can’t remember your ATM passcode. You lock your keys in the car. You run out of gas. Then your husband calls from a conference in Florida and tells you all about his “rough day” at the Disney Institute. Snap! That was the sound of the straw that just broke the straw on the back of your “camel-in-the-desert” day!
AAAAGGGHHHH! You scream in your mind. Why me? I went to grad school. I go to church. I never intentionally hit squirrels on the road. What did I ever do to deserve this???
After ten minutes in “timeout”…this is you hiding in your bathroom with the door closed. You hear your first grader tell your toddler how his “hero” is HIS mom, who makes the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the world! Feeling the slightest tugging of a smile, you grab your Clorox Wipes and head out to the van to clean up the PB&J mess. On your way out the door, your toddler says “mommy.” What? She just said her first word….MOMMY!
Now, the smile is genuine. Humming, you clean up that little snack mess and head back into the house. Those two precious darlings are playing quietly, but the baby has started to cry again. The crease in your forehead deepens, but a diaper change and bottle magically quiet your mood…and the baby's screams. Lice check, negative…thank God! Two Motrin and the cramps are gone. Your client ended up canceling and rescheduling for later in the week, now you have an open afternoon.
The hubby texts you and tells you how much he loves and appreciates you…being honest, he is a hard worker, loving father and great husband. (You text him and say it’s safe to come home.) The kids all go to bed on-time and watching them sleep peacefully almost brings you to tears. How did they grow so quickly? Where did the time go? Did you almost miss your second-born’s first word because you were freaking out about a little dab of peanut butter and jelly?
Time moves quickly, too quickly. I remember the night my son was born and can picture his little face when the nurse handed him to me in the hospital. He is now 21 years old.
I missed many things that really matter NOW because I was more focused on the little things that happened in everyday life. My advice to new moms…embrace the chaos. It’s rarely as crazy as you think. It never lasts for long. It will rob you of too many precious opportunities if you let it.
Laugh more, scream less. Commit to less, be more spontaneous with ideas your children have. Look for Kodak moments with PB&J and see fewer situations that not might make it on the cover of Parenting magazine…THESE are your priceless memories that give you warm fuzzies when your nest is empty and your baby birds grow up.

 P.S. Remember our early Christmas gift? He's now five weeks old...here's Roly Poly!
 

Comments

This gave me goosebumps. It's like that song, "You're gonna miss this."

Laura, Saturday, January 16, 2010

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Thanks........."NOW", THESE are the best days of our lives, if we can see the forrest for the trees. That's nice........

heather, Saturday, January 16, 2010

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