Enough

A new beginning, a closed chapter, a few pauses, and a continuation- all are words that describe my life right now. I am a 30 something year old wife, and I am a mother to 4 beautiful children, aren't all of our kids beautiful? They drive me crazy and melt my heart all depending on the time of day. I am a soon to be a college student, working towards a degree in Social Work. I finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up! I am also living with a mental illness that has caused me to be in deep depression for most of my life. I have lived most of my life in cluttered chaos. The last 2 years, mostly the last 12 months, I have been working hard in therapy to get out of the place I was in. My therapist has easily become my life coach and one of my biggest fans. Look mom's, I get it. You're exhausted, you're limits are stretched, at the end of the day you are going to bed wondering if you were enough. You are whatever the word normal means. We are all in this together, we are all in our trenches. I struggle on a daily basis with being enough. Am I good enough mom? Good enough wife? Good enough friend? The list could go on, the pressure we put on ourselves is ridiculous. What if we were enough just by being who we are? That is what I am learning. Balance. To live my days within the means of myself. Some days I can stretch more, some days I can give more and others I have to take a step back and take it easy. In all of those days, I AM ENOUGH. You are too. For the mom's who made it out of bed with their depression and got to the couch- You are enough. To the mom with a pile of laundry that has been sitting there for only God knows how long- You are enough. From the working mom to the SAHM to the mom who's kids are all grown and gone- You are all enough! Take a deep breath mama! You've got this! I am saying to this myself, as well. These are the words I have to repeat to myself over and over on a daily basis. I am enough. I know many other mom's who share the same struggle. What I have learned speaking with them is that we are the ones putting the pressure on ourselves, putting the limits on ourselves. Our kids aren't going to remember the pile of dishes in the sink but they are going to remember how we treat them. They are going to remember how we spent our time with them. So, pick up that baby and put down the guilt of your "shoulds". Turn up the music and dance with the little ones around you, as the colors of all the unfolded laundry fades behind you. These are fleeting moments, let's let go of the weight we are placing on ourselves and be who we were made to be. We are enough. I am enough. You are enough. We've Got This!