Works for Me Wednesday: Just Roll with It

When I was younger I really liked the band, Oasis. Don't laugh, they were very cool, like the Beetles of the 20th century. Don't act like you've never sung "Champagne Supernova" in the car.
One of my favorite songs of theirs bares the slogan for my life: You gotta roll with it.

Seriously, can you think of any better advice in this world? I submit that you cannot. It's no secret that life is challenging. All sorts of challenging. Roll down a ski slope because you can't stand up challenging. Cling onto the 'chicken strap' so you don't fall out of the raft challenging. Close your eyes and sing a song so you don't break things challenging.

And parenting? Parenting is all of those things rolled into one very special breed of challenging. It doesn't matter how many children you have or what their ages are or what their personalities are. It's hard work. Period.

Imagine standing in one of those crazy hurricane chambers at the mall. Are you imagining? Good. Now add water sprayers...and stick that chamber in the middle of the loudest, wildest concert that you've ever attended...oh, and are you good and sleep-deprived? Perfect. Now can you please fix meals, change diapers, help with potty breaks, mop up spills, fold laundry, drive to soccer practice, pick up three brand-specific notebooks that apparently no one outside of your third-grade teacher has ever heard of, find a missing shoe, sit through a violin recital, pick a booger from someone else's nose and hold it until you find a tissue to put it in, brush teeth, comb hair...wait, when was the last time you ate? Got it?

Sure. No problem.

Is it any wonder that some of the most common issues faced by women are fatigue, stress and depression?

Social media doesn't necessarily help this (says the woman who links her blog posts to Facebook, doh). We feel the need to keep up with the DIYs, make the perfect meals, be the kind of mother who goes viral...because nothing is worth anything if it's not an internet sensation for an entire twenty four hours.

It can be overwhelming, to say the least...the very least.

But this is where my mantra comes in. Because in motherhood, sometimes, ya gotta roll with it.

We are all different and unique. We have different personalities, strengths, limitations and talents that allow us to create an individual approach to each situation. I am a firm believer in finding what works for you. Now, here is a short list of what works for me. A few things that help me to keep it together from day to day and not lose my ever-loving mind while trying to navigate this crazy life.

1. Watch television. Did you know that watching TV will not make your child ignorant, lazy or a serial killer? It's true. I have spent a significant portion of my kids lives battling morning sickness. And by that I mean that I spent four months straight laying on the couch trying not to die. Do you know what my kids did during that time? They watched TV. And they lived. And they are smart. It's a miracle. Don't feel like a failure if your kids watch television. I promise, they will still read and write.

2. Let it be messy. It is okay if there are toys and dirty clothes on the floor. It is okay if there is toothpaste smeared on the bathroom counter. If you have to throw a pair of shorts in the dryer on high heat for a minute because there are no clean clothes in the dresser...IT IS OKAY. Go to bed without doing the dishes, let the kids put their Legos in the container clearly labeled "dinosaurs". Let the laundry pile up for a day or two. Doing so will not result in any of the following: chemical radiation, a zombie apocalypse, a sink hole, a nuclear freeze, the end of mankind as we know it. That's a promise.

3. Take a walk. Sometimes you need to just walk away and re-group. Enjoy a change of scenery. Breathe. Walk. Repeat.

4. Reach out. Nothing helps me to overcome my stress more than to put my own concerns on the back burner and focus on others. There is always someone who could use a phone call, a visit, a dinner, a letter, a cupcake...or actually a phone call, visit, dinner, letter AND cupcake. Don't skip the cupcake. There is great reaffirmation that comes in realizing that we are always able to bless someone else, no matter what trials we are facing.

5. Go get you a happy meal. Yes, it may sit undigested in your system for like twenty years because it's made of cow leather and pencil erasers. But an occasional fast food meal will not kill you. And if it does, you'll die happy.

Parenting isn't easy. Things will clump up and spin out of control...but sometimes ya just gotta roll with it.