I got dressed today, wore a nice outfit, and even put make up on. Every now and then I like wearing make up to work, particularly on the days that I feel tired. As I was getting ready to leave, I woke up my child and realized that her cheeks looked even more pink than my made up ones. I went on to feel her face and her chest and she felt rather hot. Her temperature came out to be above 100.4. It was time to switch gears. For today I wouldn’t be a preschool teacher, just a mom! (Just?! I mean, c’mon, a mom is a huge, worthy role!!)
What does it mean to be a mom? It means putting aside your life when your child needs you.
Being a mom is a balance between doing and being, between giving and receiving, between being active and being passive. I’ve experienced the struggle to find this balance the past couple of weeks when I’ve had several nights of poor quality sleep because I’ve been thinking about how much I want to continue to type for my side jobs (now I have two typing side jobs). My active side has been taking over my passive side and I’ve lost the ability to relax and just let things be. And today having to stay home with my kid was another, deeper lesson in having to slow down; in learning how to be OK when I’m forced to stop what I’m doing—in this case going to my full-time job as a preschool teacher.
Being a mom means thriving at getting things done and at the same time knowing how to calm down and relax when slowing down is needed. In our culture we learn a lot about how to get things done, be ambitious, be driven but we don’t learn a lot about how to accept times in life when slowing down is necessary. Or, I should say, in the past we haven’t learned about this. Now in recent years there’s been an uptick in learning about mindfulness, meditation, and living in the moment. These topics contribute lessons for how to find greater balance between doing and being.
Mindful Nuggets 