This morning, before school, my kids played in a fort made from 4 chairs for almost an hour.
I listened to them crunch cheerios, pretend to sleep and wake up over and over, giggle and read books. I snuggled under a warm blanket while I listened to them. I went in and out of sipping tea, journaling, listening and smiling.
Then, before I made breakfast, I crawled in the fort and read them some books.
This is the childhood I dreamed of creating for them.
I want my kids to look back at their childhood and be flooded with memories.
Not just the exciting memories like our vacation to Disneyland, camping trips with best friends or Christmas mornings…but everyday memories too like weekday pancakes, walks at twilight, eating dinner outside on a summer evening and dance parties.
But this only happens when I have the energy and time.
I can’t feel wiped at the end of a workday.
I can’t eat like crap and feel terrible about my body.
I can’t scroll my phone while playing playdoh with my kids.
In order to give my kids the childhood I want for them, I have to be fully present and balanced.
I need to be excited to get up and go to work when the alarm goes off.
I need to place firm boundaries around when I work and check email.
I need to feel connected to my husband.
I need to end the negative chatter in my head and think "I am enough".
It starts with ME. I can’t create the childhood I want for my kids, if I am not the mom I want to be.
And neither can you.
Prioritizing time for yourself, feeling like you have purpose and doing work that makes you happy…this is what will make you the kind of mom you want to be.
