one night, i found myself berating ME as i swept and mopped the kitchen floor after getting the boys down for bed - for all the things i didn't get done that day. i was appalled at how easily and willingly i headed down that path so, instead of sliding down the spiral of my un-done list, i decided to mentally list my victories instead. several items into my list, i began to feel much better. here is the list:
- made french toast this morning with tug
- ate breakfast with my family
- cleaned the kitchen
- took my boys to the park and stayed longer than planned because they were being good
- cooked a hot lunch
- walked the dogs
- took the boys to the pool with dad
- cooked dinner for my family
- made time to cuddle with boy my boys for a few minutes at bed time
- and STILL got the kitchen floor swept and mopped
maybe i didn't get any laundry or cleaning done. maybe my bathroom is a biohazard area. maybe the poop needs scooping and the garden needs hoing, but my boys know that they are important. isn't that the real victory?
i don't always make the time to do this for myself, but when i do, i realize that a clean house is not all that important and target has socks if we run out of clean ones.
where can you give yourself a little grace today? make your victory list. maybe today just getting out of bed was a victory. celebrate them all - no matter how small.
