peskypippi.comBecause I have a lot to say…

My high school Spanish teacher told our pimply faces a saying many years ago that has stuck with me ever since:

“Reach for the stars and you may land in the trees. But if you reach for the trees, you may land in the mud.”

The pimples are now gone. But the powerful words are still there. About believing in yourself, trying your best, pushing yourself, and having goals. Words of an over-achiever. Hello. I am an over-achiever. And you are likely one too. As a mother, I try to instill these values into my children. Here is how I have put this saying into practice just this month:

• I co-coached a six-year-old boys’ youth soccer team this Fall (my son was on this team). I reinforced to them, “You can’t score, unless you take a shot.” That sounds obvious. But this has deeper meaning: take a chance and go for it.
• There’s an art contest at school. My daughter won a blue ribbon for her drawing last year. (Yeah, I already bragged about this on Facebook.) She thought she might not win again. I tell her, “You cannot win if you don’t enter.” We must enter into the challenges of life.
• My oldest has a huge history project. One that is done in pieces over the course of six weeks, with a grand finale culmination event. He has to make a tri-fold presentation board with all the facts about Alexander the Great. The teacher did not give specific guidelines about how this should look, but only what core information it has to contain. I tell my son, “You need to go all out on this and make this look kick-ass.” In other words, you’d better not show up with a plain white tri-fold presentation. This sucker had better pop!
• And take me. I have been wanting to start up a blog for awhile now. I have been annoying enough on Facebook. And wanted to expand. I questioned myself: “What will the blog be about?” and “Is it OK I just write one blog a week?” and “What if I don’t have enough to say?” Well ya know what? I launched my blog. I did it. I did it for me. And it turns out that I have more than enough to say. Enough that I just may develop carpal tunnel syndrome soon.

I ran across another great quote along these lines from @YourAuntLola on Twitter:

“You Can Dooooooooo It!”

Moms are the heart and soul of the family. Remember that.

No pressure! In our perfectionist, over-achieving attempt to be Super Moms, something’s gotta give. I am learning this.

Like many mothers, I care (maybe too much) about my family. I strive to parent and raise my children properly. I work outside of the home and give my 100% brain power to be successful in my job. I am a good enough wife who really can make incredible gravy. Oh, and I’ve been told that my banana bread could be served to angels. I am the organizer and planner of family activities and celebrations.

Just yesterday, I had three conversations with three different friends. Here is how the conversations went:

1. One dear friend has a newborn and is returning to work. She has four other children. We talked about the pressures we put on ourselves to do the right things and how we put family first, before ourselves. Always.
2. Another friend was telling me about the amazing birthday party she is throwing for her daughter. She says she is not a half-assed mother. I know this because I do the same thing. And to use the same metaphor, my mothering is an ass the size of a truck. Kids are only young once, so why not make a memorable birthday party?
3. Finally, a third friend, who is a new mother, and I were talking about over caring and how sometimes, maybe, we need to care a little less. Or maybe, it’s really that we need to care a little bit more about ourselves.

So, what is the something’s-gotta-give I’m referring to in my life? Housework. When you visit my house and take your shoes off, I cannot promise that you will leave with your socks clean. Hey, I have a dog that sheds and kids that eat like dogs.

Instead, I focus my time and energy and doing the little things–and the big things–to make happy, nurturing, and enriched lives for my children. My youngest son’s picture he drew of his favorite things is proof of this: family picnics and baking cookies with Mom.

We, Moms, are helping to guide, support, and make positive memories for our children. No pressure.