Don’t DIY | How To {not} Do It All

It’s easy to say, that on any given day I can create a Facebook status of the things I’ve accomplished that will leave someone picking their jaw up off the floor.  They will think I’m super-mom.  While there are somedays I certainly feel like I am – you know, those days where you get so much accomplished you want to shout it to the world – “I DID IT!!  GO ME!!” – the truth is that most days aren’t those days.

If I were task listing a day, my day {today} would include a list like this:

• Shower
• Clean House
• Cook Meals
• Bake brownies
• Laundry (at least 3 loads)
• Get 4 kids fed, dressed, hair done, lunches and backs packed, loaded into the car by 7:45 by myself
• Attend MOPS (playgroup)
• Doctors Appointment
• Make girls Easter Presents
• Watch Maddi’s gymnastics
• School/Gym Chauffeur
• Finish paperwork for new school registration
• Grocery shop
• Meal plan
• Relax for more than 10 minutes
• Write a blog post

See, sounds impressive (and exhausting).  There are days when I am able to do a list like this…but the truth is, my day looked more like this (pink indicates things NOT accomplished):

• Shower
• Clean House
• Cook Meals (do frozen chicken nuggets count?)
• Bake brownies
• Laundry (no loads)
• Get 4 kids fed, dressed, hair done, lunches and backs packed, loaded into the car by 7:45 by myself
• Attend MOPS (playgroup)
• Doctors Appointment
• Make girls Easter Presents
• Watch Maddi’s gymnastics (only 30 min of her 3.5 hour practice)
• School/gym Chauffeur
• Tend the garden
• Finish paperwork for new school registration
• Grocery shop
• Meal plan
• Relax for more than 10 minutes
• You’re reading it right?

Not nearly as impressive, right?  But here’s the thing.  That’s ok.  At some point in my journey as a mom, I realized that I don’t have to do it all.  One of the best things I have learned as being part of a mom community is that it’s ok to not do it all, most of us don’t.  And the last two years of my life has taught me I can’t do it all and I don’t want to do it all.  It has taken me a LONG time to just enjoy spending a day playing with my children, ignoring all the rest while remaining guilt-free.  And only some days I succeed at it.

There are things that I am really good at and are easy for me to do.  For example, cooking.  I LOVE to cook.  If it were up to me I would just cook all the time – for anyone.  However, I HATE to clean. Hate seems like a really strong word but honestly, I loathe cleaning.  I would rather do pretty much anything than clean and my house is a living testament to it.  What’s funny is that I LOVE to organize.  Go figure right?  I constantly reorganize my messy house.  But this is me.  We all have different makeup, different strengths and weaknesses, different likes and dislikes.  It’s what makes you unique and it’s what makes us a community…and not Stepford.

Friends, moms, know that it’s ok to have dirty dishes in your sink.  Or take-out every night (for a month).  Or a half-finished to do list.  Should I even mention Pinterest?  And know and take comfort in that appearances are deceiving because it’s just not possible to do it all.  It’s not how we are made.

This blog post is actually courtesy of my good friend Jo.  She doesn’t know it, but it was her idea (combined with urging from our very own Stephanie) that sent my brain spiraling for the last week.  You see, Jo loves to clean and she dislikes (see, less strong of a word) cooking.  I love to cook and hate to clean.  Get it?  We co-op.  I’m not sure where the days went when you could go to your neighbors house and borrow a cup of sugar, but I know I’m not in one of those neighborhoods now.  So when my friend Jo suggested to me that we swap, I was nearly taken aback.  She cleans for me, I cook for her.  We each do something we enjoy and share the workload.  A community coming together to support each other.  Isn’t that how the world used to work?

I would love to know if there are any other mom co-ops going on out there!  Do you find it helpful?  What things have you co-oped with?