I recently got to fly to Washington, DC with 2 of my children and my husband. We tagged along on a business trip he had. While flying back, I had a window seat on one of the flights. I was gazing out at the beautiful, white, puffy clouds. How serene and peaceful everything is above the clouds. I found myself wondering what was going on below the clouds. Whose houses were we flying over and what was happening there? Sounds weird, probably.

Mamahood is like this. Some days are above the clouds. We have a great homeschool day. Maybe one of our teens sends us a random text saying they love us. Maybe our husband checks in periodically with words of encouragement. Oh, better yet! The three year old only colors on paper!

Then comes an “under the cloud”day. The child with epilepsy has a bad medical day. We get in a fight with one of our teenagers and don’t watch our tongue. Babies are sick, the laundry is piled to the ceiling. Oh, after a $400 trip to Costco, “There’s no food in the house.” You get the idea.

The “above the cloud days” are amazing. I recently had some of these when I was in DC. I was only mothering two children and we were out of our day to day element. We learned a lot and I didn’t cook a single meal!

Yesterday, I definitely had the other kind of day. I was literally thinking, “How am I going to survive this?” It led me to think about all the other women and moms having bad days. Maybe there is something I can say that would encourage you.

Here are my thoughts for those days:

1. Scrap the schedule- some days will be successful if you get some reading done, make dinner, and still have the kids alive when the day is over.

2. Reset your expectations- Frustration ensues when you expect things to keep on track when there are troubles

3. Pray without ceasing–again, I’m preaching to myself.

4. Put your own wants on hold- exercise, computer time, reading, quiet time….these things won’t happen on those days. Just accept it.

5. Reach out–I have a few people I text frequently. Just getting a response helps me know I’m not alone and someone else might be thinking about me.

6. Do something for someone else- yesterday, we got out the card making stuff and made a couple of cards for other people. That helps take MY mind off of the day I’m having.

7. Journal the good and the bad. You will get some perspective if you can read back on the “above the cloud” days.

I hope that you are all having an “above the cloud day!” If not, one is coming soon!

Blessings,

Sonya