So on Friday when I took the 4 week old in the car, then left him in said car with the nanny so I could attend my 2 year old's tea party at preschool, that was enough. Because I wanted baby #3 to have my undivided attention for the entire 22 minutes that I was in her classroom, sitting at a table with a name card she made (a handprint flower, awww), and we sipped lukewarm chamomile tea and ate cheddar cheese finger sandwiches. At a table for two, "we are all alone at our table". That's what my little princess told me, something that rarely happens in a family with 4 kids. We sipped tea and ate and talked and placed our napkins on our laps. Then she refolded her napkin multiple times, pointed ot her favorite things in the classroom, and we talked our "her baby" and how he was all hers and what she would teach him when he was big enough for preschool.
Miraculously the newborn slept the entire time so when I came out he was just waking up and I nursed him in the car before heading home.
And sometimes (or a lot of times), I let my almost-5 year old watch TV shows or play educational computer games because that will entertain him and keep him quiet. My 2 year old knows how to turn on her own Kindle Fire and watch Frozen or Umi Zoomi or "the funny one". My 6 year old gets read to each day and her homework is done each week, but somedays she goes to school in the same clothes as the day before because I don't want to fight with her over clothes one more day.
But this year, 2014, is the year that it is all enough. I am enough. They are getting enough. Because the most important "thing" is love, and with parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles each one of them is getting more than enough love.
Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers, grandmothers, and mothers-in-waiting.
Jessica
Thank you for this. As a new mom to a 6 week old, I already struggle with feeling like I don't do enough. We're so frequently bombarded with the pressure and expectations to be perfect moms, to do more for our kids and partners, and at the same time, make ourselves a priority. Thank you for the reminder that we're all doing the best we can and that is more than enough!
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic. I know I do enough. My son is happy and healthy so I am obviously doing something right!! Hope you had a fantastic Mother's Day!
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