Aprons, Heels, and Yoga Pants

I think there should be a lifeline for mothers….

You’ve been up since the crack of dawn, worked all day, picked up children, picked up groceries, made dinner, helped with long division, convinced teenagers that algebra IS necessary because you said so, worked out, cleaned up dinner, emptied gross lunch boxes, picked up a lot of random socks, (what is that? My children leave socks everywhere. Why aren’t they on their feet??), throw in some laundry and hope no one says, “Hey mom – I need my clothes washed for tomorrow.”….you crawl up the stairs to your room to burn your bra and put on the comfiest thing you can find. Then it hits you. You are done. That’s it. You can’t do one more thing. Flat on your back on your bed, you worry someone will need you, or maybe some thing, (like an overflowing toilet) So you call the lifeline, and bam!…wine and chocolates at your door in Jimmy John freaky fast fashion.

Ok it doesn’t solve your exhaustion issue, but the wine and chocolates make you feel like you can go on. You feel a little love, and some healthy motivation to get those kids to bed and binge watch Netflix. You deserve it.

Thankfully, I am usually in bed before my older children. I have three teenagers and a 10 year old. My days of rocking babies to sleep are long gone. There is a new exhaustion though. The exhaustion of busyness. I think that may be the meaning of life? It’s just different levels of exhaustion. When you finally master one level, there is suddenly a new one.

Most mothers I know, around my age, are in the throws of life. We are needed everywhere. I mean everywhere. We are pretty much running the world but no one notices. Way to go ladies.

We are in the final stages of raising our children, (insert sad face), we are working outside the home or at home, running a home, running a business, taking care of the never ending daily life stuff, (laundry, groceries, cleaning, etc.), running errands, running kids everywhere, trying to eat right, trying to get enough exercise, checking on our parents if we are fortunate enough to still have them, checking on friends when they cross our mind and we get a minute to shoot a text…we are running, and running, and running. I am tired just writing it.

But lo…there is no lifeline for tired mamas. There is however, friendship. More than ever, we need good friends. Nothing makes me feel more loved than when a friend who I know is exhausted herself, shows up at my door with my favorite hot tea or a bottle of wine. Yes, these friends exist but they are rare. We are at a stage in life, finally, where drama is not allowed and we keep our circle small….because we need that circle to be real.

My circle has changed with time. There are old reliables for sure, but also new ones who stepped in and proved it isn’t the amount of time you know someone, but rather who showed up when you needed them. I try to be that friend in return. Ive been through some stuff lately. I have a bit of healing to do, and I could not do it without my circle. I am so thankful for those friends….the men and women in my life, who know when a lunch, a phone call, or a shoulder to cry on are necessary.

More importantly, they know I prefer red.