I see you trying....

I see you trying...

I know days are long, weeks seem short, and years fly by.  I see you trying to improve your health.  I see you trying to work hard long hours to support your family.  Make meals.  Help with homework.  Keep your home clean.  Dishes and laundry pile up.  There are days you want to cry because there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.

You sometimes go to the grocery just to be alone and end up browsing aisles just for a little more quiet time.  You spend countless hours pouring into your family in hopes that they will become outstanding members of society, and fears that you somehow have failed at this task.

You do what you can to squeeze in a workout or even a 5 minute shower when little ones are still sleeping.  You plan menus, but some nights things don't go as planned and you end up too tired to even cook.  So you zip through a drive thru and then feel guilty for not supplying a "healthy" meal for your family.

STOP beating yourself up!!!  Guess what?  It happens to all of us.  Time and schedules of everything fill our calendars and you do the best you can.  You are trying.  So, here's a challenge for everyday.  Stand in front of a mirror and smile at yourself.  You are beautiful.  You are loved by someone very special who see's you for what you are worth, not for what you can do for them.  You are capable of mighty things, even if today didn't go quite as you planned.  You are trying and we see you.

We see you wiping small tears as your child falls and scrapes their knees.  We see you kissing foreheads after little ones have fallen asleep.  Sighing a silent thank you for the little blessings in your life.  We see or hear you when things are difficult.  Such as, trying to get through the grocery with a screaming child because...whatever the reason.  I know you desperately wish you could just pick them up and take them home at times.  Yet, you are out of milk or need coffee for yourself.  Guess what? It will be okay.

This parenting thing is hard.  You somehow keep going.

If things worth working hard for wasn't so hard, you may take it or those around you for granted and not see their value.  However, when you've had to invest time and energy into something or someone it makes you that much more grateful for the long journey you've traveled.

So... I see  you trying so very hard.  I am looking at myself too. I'm giving myself a break.  Between, doctor appointments, taking care of a family, a home, my mountain of laundry, or dishes. All of it reminds me. The journey is long, but the travel time while making it goes by in a flash.  So I'm learning to savor the moments that challenge me to be better the next time.