Above photo by Megan Khichi Photography
If you've been following along with my publisher's notes, you know that we recently welcomed our third baby into our family. We also have a 5yo and a 3yo and I know it's supposed to be a mega-difficult transition. I've been getting a lot of "how do you do it all?!" questions lately.
In truth, this transition hasn't been all that difficult for me and I think the reason it's been manageable is that my answer to that question is simple: I don't do it all. And I feel no need to do it all, especially right now, but not really ever.
In actuality, I've been spending a lot of time doing just what I'm pictured doing up there in the article image. I've been spending a lot of time holding the new baby, I've been spending as much good time with the big kids as I can while she naps (even if that means taking them to a playground when I told them the day before they weren't allowed to go because of bad behavior), I've been eating dinner and watching TV with my husband once they go to sleep instead of working, I've been relying on my husband to make their school lunches and letting go of some of the control around the house when things aren't done the exact way I'd do them myself (this has been difficult but, to my surprise, everybody has survived so far even if the bread isn't put in the correct compartment in the lunchbox. OK I'm a control freak, sorry.), and most importantly, I've been giving myself a lot of grace.
There are a ton of things I wanted to do during this time. I feel like I totally missed the boat in this newsletter on my favorite holiday, Earth Day, which I was super excited for. There are so many spring festivals I wanted to go to, a Mother's Day giveaway I wanted to do, and I haven't been nearly consistent enough with my posting on social media. I haven't even been consistent with writing a publisher's note every week! On top of all the work stuff, there are home projects I'd like to get done, vacuuming that NEEDS to get done, and a haircut that is long overdue. But for now, all of that is on the backburner and I've decided that's OK for me.
And because I don't know what this upcoming week will bring and whether I will get around to my publisher's note next week, this is my official Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mamas out there. I hope that, for Mother's Day, you'll give yourself the same grace. Prioritize yourself. Take care of yourself. Be OK with admitting you have a limit and respect your own limit enough to say "no" to the things that would put you over. I hope you do something for Mother's Day that you truly want to do and not something that just makes you even more stressed out. I think all moms are Superwoman, even the ones who miss two publisher's notes in one month š
xo
Julie
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