We’re Treading Water

Yesterday I had a typical day for my house. It was busy, as I am sure many of your days are, and it left me exhausted.  Between work, homework, dinner, sports, chores and bed time rituals, I had had it by 9 pm.  I needed to sit, I needed to relax, I needed some me time. Unfortunately, I also needed to do laundry and pack the diaper bag. I felt like I  had been so busy all day, yet I felt like I had not gotten anything done.  My house was not spotless, the bottles were not clean and my bed was covered in clean clothes to be put away.

As I walked into our bedroom where my husband was, I thought to myself, “I am drowning; we are drowning.”  But that’s not what I said.  I let sentences and sentences spill out of my mouth about how I felt like I was on a hamster wheel, constantly running but getting nowhere.  And you know what he said? As if he could read my thoughts when I first walked in the room, he said, “I know hun, that’s just how it is right now. We are treading water.”  We are treading water!

At that point, my thoughts stopped in their tracks. I do not say this often, but he was right.  (Whew! I not only said that out loud, I also put it on paper, and I lived through it! ) I’ll say it again, he was right.  We are NOT drowning, we are treading water.  Our kids are healthy and happy (most of the time).  Our bills are paid, there is food on our table and we are happily married (most of the time).  Does that sound like drowning? No! I realize that we also have a messy house sometimes with a pile of laundry and convenience food for dinner. But hey, I didn’t say we were swimming a 200 meter freestyle. I said we were treading water, right?

Sometimes you need a reminder that even when you are stressed and feel overwhelmed, it will be okay.  We are not perfect. Let me say that again, we are not perfect. Our houses are not perfect, our meals are not perfect, our marriages are not perfect and our children are not perfect.  Some days we feel like superwoman. Some days we swim across the ocean. But some days we just tread water. And to be honest, some days we even come close to drowning.  (By the way, when that happens, I find a prayer helps. Is there any better life preserver than the grace of God?)

I wish you all many days of swimming, but try to keep in perspective that on the bad days, you are likely, at least,  still treading water. Oh, and look around, you will see that there are many of us treading right along with you.  And when you see that one mom swimming by at the speed of light, try to fight the urge to grab her feet as she passes dunk her under. Instead, cheer her on. You will want that cheering when it is your day to swim!