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- Goodbye, Wit's End
Goodbye, Wit's End
- By Julie Christensen
- Published 08/12/2008
- Lessons from Experience
I have realized what brought me to "wit's end."
It's four crying children, who haven't stopped whining in a week.
It's a busted dishwasher that won't be replaced for far too long.
It's a backyard that is "soldiered" by my daughter, Zoe.
It's a baby sleeping through the night, only to be wakened every hour by my almost-three-year-old.
It's baren cupboards, but having to prepare dinner.
It's summer break, without a beach to belong to or a pool to swim in.
It's living too far to drive, and too expensive to fly, "home."
It's knowing school is out in two days and having to be on duty for sixty three more.
It's bad hair, indefinitely.
It's PMS.
It's my power going out, when all I want is ice-cream and my favorite TV show.
It's life.
And man, I'm in the thick of it.
Before my husband, Adam, and I were dating, when we were just best friends, I wrote him an email that said, "I can't wait for the day when the only thing calling me is my darling children and a good book."
I've thought about that simple statement a million times since.
In my mind I saw a home that was always clean. A dinner table that always had a warm meal. Children that played quietly and happily. A home where cookies only came from my oven, and veggies from my garden. I knew I would be a perfect mother. Knew it. It was my dream job, after all. And I had prepared for it all my life.
It didn't matter that my Mom had told me motherhood was hard. That as sweet as those babies were, they demanded a lot. She explained that often money was tight, and that kids cried. But that was her experience. Mine would be different.
Ha!
In some ways, I was right. My experience has been different. But I've realized, that as a mother, I share this experience with many. That my job is not so different from another's. Even my mothers.
Money is tight. Kids do cry. And sometimes life gets thrown at you, when you are ready or not. And while I may not be perfect, I am doing my job perfectly. Because I'm trying my hardest, and doing my best. Even when I don't want to. Even when my dishwasher breaks.
And I am grateful, every single day, that I get to do this job.
It's four crying children, who haven't stopped whining in a week.
It's a busted dishwasher that won't be replaced for far too long.
It's a backyard that is "soldiered" by my daughter, Zoe.
It's a baby sleeping through the night, only to be wakened every hour by my almost-three-year-old.
It's baren cupboards, but having to prepare dinner.
It's summer break, without a beach to belong to or a pool to swim in.
It's living too far to drive, and too expensive to fly, "home."
It's knowing school is out in two days and having to be on duty for sixty three more.
It's bad hair, indefinitely.
It's PMS.
It's my power going out, when all I want is ice-cream and my favorite TV show.
It's life.
And man, I'm in the thick of it.
Before my husband, Adam, and I were dating, when we were just best friends, I wrote him an email that said, "I can't wait for the day when the only thing calling me is my darling children and a good book."
I've thought about that simple statement a million times since.
In my mind I saw a home that was always clean. A dinner table that always had a warm meal. Children that played quietly and happily. A home where cookies only came from my oven, and veggies from my garden. I knew I would be a perfect mother. Knew it. It was my dream job, after all. And I had prepared for it all my life.
It didn't matter that my Mom had told me motherhood was hard. That as sweet as those babies were, they demanded a lot. She explained that often money was tight, and that kids cried. But that was her experience. Mine would be different.
Ha!
In some ways, I was right. My experience has been different. But I've realized, that as a mother, I share this experience with many. That my job is not so different from another's. Even my mothers.
Money is tight. Kids do cry. And sometimes life gets thrown at you, when you are ready or not. And while I may not be perfect, I am doing my job perfectly. Because I'm trying my hardest, and doing my best. Even when I don't want to. Even when my dishwasher breaks.
And I am grateful, every single day, that I get to do this job.
Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by Lisa Hawkins)
You are so right! I too am grateful for everyday I get to spend "in the thick of it all". As hard as it can be sometimes, I know we're still grateful to be doing this job, for the people we love most in our lives. Thanks for sharing!