3 Unpleasant Realities of Motherhood We Can Accept – by Connie Soko
I have mentioned before that I often hear Connie Sokol on a local program (Studio 5) around here. And she just has GREAT advice – especially for women and mothers!
So she is going to be doing a little series around here just about that!! I am SO excited. And I especially like, and relate, to this post today.
AND she is offering an AWESOME giveaway!
Here it is:
“Celebrate my new Mother’s Day book, The Life is Too Short Collection, by entering to win a $150 Mother’s Day Gift Basket (Amazon, Bath & Body Works, Connie’s Goodies). To enter, join our “Life is Too Short” motherhood contest by emailing your paragraph-to-a-page mother moment where you learned something pivotal, poignant, or pretty hilarious to [email protected] (free gifts to weekly winners until Mother’s Day!)
And, THIS WEEK ONLY, every purchase of The Life is Too Short Collection also receives a FREE 30-MINUTE PODCAST on “More Joy in Womanhood”, simply email [email protected]:)
P.S. THANK YOU to all who participated in helping the grateful Salcido family. We were able to raise $500 to help them in their need, you’re FABULOUS!!
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Three Unpleasant Realities of Motherhood We Can Accept
by Connie Sokol (excerpt from her Life is Too Short Collection)
In the journey to become a stellar mother, there are simple but unpleasant truths that happy, veteran mothers have learned to accept. I share but three.
The Flaky Mom.
At some point you will be the Flaky Mom, and more than likely to mainly one person. It’s a strange but true phenomena. This person will not see you as your typical fabulous self because for some reason when you are with said person, suddenly you can’t remember to meet them for lunch, or to share dinner duty for the PTA, or to pick up their six children from a school play practice on time.
But that’s OK. Because being the Flaky Mom allows you to pay it forward when on the receiving end of another flakester. Like myself. For over two years one of my friends endured, saint-like, my hormonal forgetfulness. I apologized profusely. I confessed I didn’t know why it was only to her. I even brought treats and trinkets as a symbolic olive branch, but things did not change with my brain. I often wondered how she was so patient. And then I paid it forward and found out.
I became friends with a fabulously wonderful woman who was experiencing the Flaky Mom syndrome. Initially, when she would forget, miss, or complicate appointments, I became frustrated. But then a voice of reason said Alamo-like, “Remember Ann.” That one thought immediately changed my attitude. Now I take the flakesters in stride because I know how often I’ve been the offender, and how soon I will likely be one again.
Being Less Than.
Whether it’s your kids, your waistline, the size of your house, the make of your car, or worry over how many awards your child will win at school, at some point, as a mother, you will feel less than. A few years ago I spoke to a large business conference on tidying up your life, at home and at work. It went spectacularly. So much so that women followed me out to the car to help stow my speaking materials. As I opened the front passenger door, I was greeted with a ketchup drip, nay, a river, going from the door handle down to the bottom of the door. From my driver’s side vantage point it was at such an angle that I hadn’t seen the little gift my son had left me the night before.
I still remember the silence that fell and how one woman (obviously a veteran mother) laughed and made a joke about children and messes, then left me to my embarrassment. This inevitability of being less than is one to learn quickly because it will happen often. And when it does, simply remember that as mothers, that’s part of the package. Own it and soon you’ll be laughing along with the other mothers at the ketchup river. As one woman said, her friends told her she had no ego. She said no, I have teenagers.
You will drop the ball.
You can’t be all things to all people, most especially within your own family. That’s intended. We have to make choices, and because of that we will make mistakes. Some of them will be small. Like the tooth fairy forgetting to show up. This has happened so often at our house that now our children look forward to the Tooth Fairy getting lost in a storm, being unable to find the tooth (though it’s under a pillow), or accidentally giving money to a sibling who didn’t lose a tooth. They know if she makes a mistake, they make bank. One tooth cost the fairy a solid fiver with a Cold Stone coupon. She was pretty punctual after that.
Other mistakes will be bigger. Forgetting a child at the ball park. Setting a punishment that was too harsh. Or ignoring signs in a child that warned something was seriously wrong. Sometimes dropping the parental ball will be a very, very painful experience, but also a learning lesson if we choose. We can show our children how to pick up the dropped ball, yet again, and continue to move forward.
As I said, there are many motherhood realities that we can accept and even embrace. Hopefully, you can allow yourself to nod and give yourself permission to do the same, before you find a ketchup river on your car door.
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Looking for a fabulous life boost?
The Life is Too Short Collection is just what you need. Written by Connie Sokol—mother of seven, author, speaker, and amazing matching sock finder—these humorous self-development columns give you the right amount of fun and functional.
Originally written for a major newspaper and magazines, enjoy all three Life is Too Short books in this convenient one-book collection: Life is Too Short for One Hair Color, Life is Too Short for Sensible Shoes, and Life is Too Short for Linoleum.
Put your feet up and laugh as you relate to time-tested tips on being a woman, wife, and mother. Discover how to feel more daily joy, deal with marital differences, and navigate parenthood. These powerful columns are perfect anytime to rejuvenate your mind and soul.
Full of kitchen table wisdom with a side of humor, The Life is Too Short Collection is the ideal gift for every woman!
“I wasn’t even finished with Connie’s book before I felt renewed. Every woman needs to read this and be blessed by her wisdom and humor. Life can be a simpler and happier. She has the formula. Thank you, Connie!”
—Joy Lundberg, Co-author of I Don’t Have to Make Everything All Better
“Every page reminds me of Erma Bombeck as Connie dares us to laugh at ourselves (and to forgive ourselves, too) for loving our kids too much and measuring ourselves too harshly…If you doubt your ability to make the most of marriage and motherhood, this book will help you believe again. But, keep the tissues nearby. You’ll need them to wipe away your tears from laughter!”
–Rebecca Cressman, KSL Radio Host
How do you enter the giveaway?? I’d love to win!
Nevermind!
I stumbled accross this today and I so needed this. Thank you!