Avoiding the burn out

So, word to your mama. I legit peed my pants last week. Not a few drops. No I wasn’t running or doing anything active. I was changing a diaper. I peed. Down my legs, soaking my XL Walmart leggings with holes in the butt, that I still rock from my first pregnancy, because they are what dreams are made of. Yes. I peed. All the way down my dream leggings into my once white now yellow socks, as I tried to restrain my two year old son from rolling off his changing table to his death. Yes. I peed. So if peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis.

With that image, I will make my point. Was it necessary that I stand with my son so that he did not fall off and hurt himself? Yes. He is two. He was tired, and throwing a fit, and didn't know better. Sure we can just call this a badge of motherhood. We are selfless. It is who we are. Continuously putting off our needs until we metaphorically or sometimes quite literally in this case, pee our pants. I could have set him down on the floor, in his crib, with a tablet, or a snack, just so I could pee. I put it off until I could not put it off anymore. So my leggings and socks paid the price.

This is a pretty hilarious comparison, but it is so fitting. I don’t know about you, but I will continue to put things off for the sake of efficiency, until it is 1:00 in the afternoon and I have reheated my coffee 3 times, and forgotten to eat anything. Yes, at this toddler age our kids need us for everything. Yes the more babies you have it is harder to take a minute for yourself. I have two and it is hard. I cannot imagine having 4 or 5. Oh Lord. Or having twins. Bless you mama. But what I am saying is simply, take a minute. Put a timer on. Take two minutes, five if you can. And set the expectation for your children that until that timer goes off, or you are done with your lunch, or your coffee, or whatever you need at that time, that they are not going to get what they are asking mommy for. Fire flood or blood kid. This break is happening.

Take a minute to yourself. They might need therapy one day, but I promise they will need it anyway, so you might as well take some time to choose yourself. To choose being healthy. A mental break.

Motherhood is selfless by nature, and truthfully I love it. I love feeling selfless for those boys. But it adds up. Every time we are choosing to put our families needs ahead of ours, it is honorable. It is God honoring, yes. But each time we choose them, we inadvertently deny ourselves. We deny ourselves growth, we deny ourselves time away, we deny ourselves rest, we deny ourselves going to the bathroom evidently. So how long will we deny ourselves a break? Yes waking up before our babies is huge. Do I always do it? No. But what about during the day. Or honestly 10:00 am when we are already feeling like the wheels are falling off? Can I get an amen? Is it ok to take your coffee to a nearby bathroom so you can still hear them, lock the door and drink it in peace? You bet your sweet ass it is. Take a break. If you don’t you will metaphorically and literally piss your pants.

Take 5 Mama. Kids aren’t the only ones who can take a time out.

PK