Motto for Motherhood

{this adorable printable was made by my sweet friend Melissa at sweetcoconutlime. Click here to download one for your home.}

This quote is framed and on the wall of the most visible spot in my home...the kitchen. I look at it and read it everyday, a hundred times a day. As I step into the kitchen first thing in the morning to get breakfast going and lunches packed, I read it. When I clean the kitchen and sweep the floor for the 5th time that day, I read it. When I pace the floors of my house with a crying baby, I read it. When my 19 month old daughter is crying for me to carry her while I am trying to get dinner ready, I read it. When I am battling the wills of my oldest daughter, I read it and read it again. When I am cleaning up all of the daily messes and spills and folding laundry ONCE AGAIN, I read it. It has become my motto. I still remember when Sister Dalton said it in one of her talks. I knew the moment that I heard it that it was something I needed to frame in my home. It just spoke to me, But it wasn't until last week, that I finally got it framed.

Earlier in the week, I had one of those break down moments (literally), you know, the kind where you are in your driveway buckling in a crying baby, trying to rummage through your diaper bag to find a pacifier for your toddler (and wondering how she managed to get food all over her clothes in the hour that she had been awake), making sure that your school age children have lunchboxes, signed agenda mates, homework, and their water bottle packed up in their backpacks, and racing the clock because if you pull out of the driveway any later you will be in major school traffic. Oh, and you had a horrible night sleep the night before so you are definitely not perky PLUS it is picture day and you are really wishing that you had put your foot down and not let your daughter wear the not-so-cute outfit that she has chosen to have her picture in (not that I have to buy the school pictures, but still!), oh and one more thing....you have gone without power for 36 hours and counting. But wait....one more thing....you turn the key in the ignition.....nothing. The battery is dead.

So I pulled out my phone and called my friend. She could hardly understand what I was saying through all of the tears and sobbing, but she dropped everything and came to my rescue. As we were driving to the store (I had also run out of diapers that morning), I just broke down. I sat there for probably a full two minutes and told her how horrible and hard my life was (yes, there was a lot of exaggeration going on). Her response was totally not what I expected. As one of my closest friends, she said to me exactly what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear, what I NEEDED to hear. She said, "Melissa, you can do this. Come on, cowboy up." I stopped crying and had a complete paradigm shift. She was right, I could do this. And, I could do it joyfully, because afterall, life is sometimes hard, and if I forget to look for the humor and see the joy than I won't enjoy the journey along the way. Besides, if it wasn't hard at times, I wouldn't be learning the lessons I need to learn in order to become the person I need to become.

It was within the next 12 hours that the power came back on and I printed and framed the above quote. It is now my constant reminder to "cowboy up". This whole mothering thing is hard, but I can do it because I know that I'm not doing it alone. It is all the little things that just build and build and build until I feel like I can't carry them any more. I just have to remember that He has not asked me to carry it alone. Alone, it will always be too heavy and too hard. I just have to remember that He is always there patiently waiting for me to ask for His help. And then I must believe. Believe that with His help, and strength, I really can do all things, even the hard things.