As a mother of young children, I can become completely overwhelmed with the load that I have before me.

How do I carry this load?

I am grateful for my husband. I am grateful for my family and friends. I am grateful for children who nap. These are the everyday, practical ways I am supported while I carry my load. However, I realise that when my load becomes overwhelming, it is usually self-inflicted.

I drive myself to exhaustion because I am restless with discontent. The world works on a system of work & reward; the harder you work, the more rewards you will reap. Though I’m not saying we should all just give up and become sluggards, the belief, that to get the most out of life, you have to work and work and work – – – is a lie. It’s never enough. The more you have, the more you want. It never ends.

Exhaustion, restlessness and discontent is humbling. It makes me realise my limitations. It makes me realise how much I need rest.

How do I carry this load? I am grateful that I have a God who is my maker, redeemer and saviour. He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” ~ Lena Horne.

My load won’t break me down because someone who is loving and very able, has taken away my heavy load. I don’t need to be restless with discontent. I can rest, and be content. For this, I am very grateful.

What makes you exhausted? How do you carry your load?

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The post To My Fellow Exhausted Parents by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

When you’re in an airplane and those oxygen masks come down, you have to first put on your own mask, before you put the mask on your child. Such a simple and practical point that flows onto parenting in general, but oh – how I need to be reminded so often!

We, as parents need to make sure that we’re doing okay first, before we can help our kids. As parents, the issue of how we socialize our kids is often thought about – but what about us? To grow and flourish as people, parents need friendship and community too.

Friends lift us up and make us more than what we can be. When times are tough, friends remind us that we are treasured; they tell us that our lives are important for their lives.

Although communities may not always be friendly, I think friendship and community are closely related. It is within a community that we find friends. It is within communities and friendships that we share our daily lives. We share those things that make us sing and we share those moments that make us cry. We share the mundane everyday and we share the extraordinary events. In learning that we are a gift for our friends and communities, and that they are also gifts to us; we become more human.

I am thrilled to announce that I am a Fisher-Price Play Ambassador because Fisher-Price understands the importance of parenting communities. Fisher-Price understands that parents run through the whole gamut of dramatic emotions from grief to joy, sometimes within the tiny space of a few seconds! Fisher-Price understands that parents need friends and communities to grow and flourish; so that they can help their children grow and flourish.

I’m partnering with Fisher-Price to share openly about parenting. Over the next few months, I’ll also be hosting some fun Fisher-Price giveaways, just for Lessons Learnt Journal readers, so keep watching this space.

Let’s start some conversations. What or who has helped you grow and flourish?

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So why is it that we have children? Why is it that we want to be parents? Why is it about parenting that people love? There are probably as many answers to this as there are people. Here’s mine.

Children are people. Their lives are as significant and important as anybody’s. They are people who are developing and growing, just like the rest of us.

During our quick bedtime story tonight, I asked my boys what they thought was the most amazing thing God created. M said the rainbow. N couldn’t decide. E was bouncing on the bed. As we read the story, they were reminded, along with me, that people are amazing.

Not only that, everyone is extraordinary. As C.S. Lewis puts it, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” ~ The Weight of Glory, (HarperOne,2001), pp.45-46, from The Gospel Coalition.

Then he says, much to this mummy blogger’s delight, “We must play”. If we genuinely respect, value and love each other, that is what we do. We play as equals. “No flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

Yes, kids are expensive. Yes, parenting is hard work. Yes, my conversation about Superman and Batman with my children is not intellectually riveting. However, it is breath taking to contemplate, even for a moment, the glorious beings they were created to be. And … I get to be their parent and play with them!

What do you enjoy about being a parent?

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I’m a closet mummy blogger. It’s such a ridiculous oxymoron. On the one hand I’m working my butt off to get my content seen by people. I’m out there, yelling “Look at me!!” on as many virtual roof tops as I can. On the other hand, in my every day conversations with my friends and family, I never bring up my blog in conversation and I try with all my might to restrain myself from Instagraming that quick pic.

I’m a closet mummy blogger because I love blogging, but I loathe hearing these words from other parents, “You make me feel so guilty.”

A friend of mine so eloquently put it like this: “We all live under judgment. We judge each other and ourselves, with everything we do.”

Add a child into that picture and that sense of judgment, on each other and ourselves is accentuated. With parenting, it’s not just about us, there’s also a dependent life (or several dependent lives) in the equation.

“Am I doing enough? They are doing things differently. Why?! Which way is better? Who’s the better parent?”… and the internal parenting rants go on.

I remember bringing my twin babies home, a month after they were born. (They had spent a month at hospital because they were born premature and were very under weight). Being a first time mum who had just given birth to twins, my hormones were all over the shop and I had no idea what I was doing. All I was fixated on was feeding my babies. To me, being a mum, equated to breastfeeding my twin babies. The struggles I went through to establish breastfeeding – – and twin breastfeeding at that – – was horrendous. I had to build up my supply; learn how to hold and attach my twin babies properly; then when there was an oversupply, there were blocked ducts; not to mention the sleep depravation! To have gone through all that then be told my twins weren’t putting on enough weight, completely demoralised me. I had been told for what seemed an eternity through parenting books, parenting classes, other parents, my own dear parents, that breastfeeding was the best thing we could do for our babies. Other mums can breastfeed their twins. Why can’t I?! Why am I such a failure?

We ended up complimentary feeding our twins. I got more rest, was less stressed, and our twin babies grew.

The parenting situations and parenting topics may have changed, but judgement and that perpetual sense of parenting failure still loom. How do I resolve them? I know and believe that I have a wonderful hope that lifts me out of judgment, but the reality is I’m still here now, living under judgment. Here I am, judging others, judging myself and being judged by others – (especially about parenting matters).

Bottom line is, I’m still growing. As I live this life, as I parent, as I grow, I want to be intentional in my actions, decisions and words.

I heard a talk by Tony Golsby-Smith, which I have found very helpful. He presents a model where to act wisely, all these three characteristics should be present:
1. Will: True to transcendent, unchanging principles.
2. Intellect: Responsive to the changing context of time/space/situation.
3. Emotion: Authentic to my inner self, my emotions, my person as an individual.

Tony makes the point that all three are required for wisdom. Two of three, or one of the three is not enough. So, the next time a parenting issue arises and I feel judged by myself or others, I’m going to try to think through those three parts of me: my will, my intellect and my emotions – where are they and where should they be?

When have you felt judged as a parent? How do you cope with judgment?

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