Death to the Super Mom

A few years ago while we were living in Tampa, I went to one of the best Relief Society activities of my life. The whole activity was good but one comment in particular made it the best Relief Society activity ever.

The idea of the activity was to get parenting advice from some experts--experts by way of education but also by experience. So there was a licensed therapist there who would take questions and answer them. There were also a panel of experienced moms that we younger moms could ask questions to.

Honestly, it doesn't sound fun but it was.

The therapist fielded some really tough questions. I remember her talking about when it is actually okay to tell a child they have to leave your home. Less intense questions were discussed as well--when it's okay for your kids to quit piano lessons, how to deal with nap schedules, etc.

Then one question near and dear to my heart came up, and it was directed at one of the experienced moms.

The question was something like--

"Scripture study. Morning and evening prayers. Callings. Sports. School work. Extra-curriculars. Healthy meals. Birthdays. Traveling. Chores. Exercise. The list goes on and on. How do we do it all?"

The experienced mom, who is one of my favorite people, laughed and responded:

"You don't. Get rid of the idea of the Super Mom."

She went on to explain that you just can't do everything and that you should just pick a few things--the most important to your and your family--and do those the best you can.

I was reminded of this the other day because I was simultaneously feeding Harris and having a reading lesson with June and trying to get Gwen to stop kicking me. Oh Gwen.

Dan saw the scene and took a quick picture. "Look at the Super Mom I'm married to!" he called out with pride.

While he honestly thought he was capturing a moment of multi-tasking greatness, I was at my wit's end. And after he snapped the pic, I snapped at my crew.

Just made me remember--I am not a super mom. Time to scale back a bit and focus on what's important. Which, yes, does include feeding Harris. And reading lessons with June. And trying to teach Gwen how to channel her rage. But maybe not all at the same time.