It’s 1am. The past week my son had ruff nights and my body has adjusted to being up at this time. The past couple nights I just tossed and turned till about 3am, thoughts racing, unable to sleep.
“The house is such a mess.” “You can’t even get simple things done with a toddler.” “You can’t multitask.” “You don’t contribute to this household.” “You’re a bad mom.”
I know I’m not a bad mom, but struggling to keep my house clean drives me crazy! During the day the mess overwhelms me I feel exhausted just looking at it and nothing gets done. I take care of my son and nothing else.
I read an article the other day about a woman who’s therapist told her to “run the dishwasher twice” or “hire a maid” and that there’s no rules when it comes to keeping a house clean or self care. At the time I agreed but couldn’t help, but think, “That’s not helpful to me. I don’t have a dishwasher, and definitely can’t afford a maid.”
Tonight I found my rule breaker. Instead of tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep when my body clearly wasn’t having it. I got up. I was motivated and I cleaned the kitchen. I did a load of laundry, I did dishes. I felt proud of myself.
I’m not sure why the other nights I didn’t just get up. Something in me just said, “That’s not normal.” So what if it’s not normal? It makes me happy. It gets stuff done. It makes my life easier. There is no rule saying I can’t do the dishes at 1am.
So tonight as I type this before I start on the living room I want to encourage you to break your rules. Do the dishes, and know that you’re not a bad mom! Simply taking care of a child is enough. You love them and that makes you the best mom you can be.
The Modern Christian Mom 