I turned simple into stressful. The outfit I had picked, turned out to have a ton of flaws. The shirt needed to be ironed (I don’t iron, unless absolutely necessary), his jacket had a rip in the sleeve, both shirt and jacket were looking too small and his pants were flooding him as they were too big. I looked through his closet finding patterns and grays, but no other clothes that fit exact specifications. Meanwhile, Katie is trying to wrangle LeighAshley who is running all over the house refusing to cooperate with any request given to her. We were running out of time and were trying to get out to make it to the bus stop in time.
I tried to steam the shirt with no luck, then quickly stitched the whole in the jacket, but managed to sew the lining in such a way that made it hard to put on so I had to pull out the stitches and go again. The clock was ticking. I glanced at the clock and the bus stop option was out. We now had to race to get to school on time. I managed to get dressed enough to get out of the house but was trying to get all the school necessities together and do Caleb’s hair. There was yelling from the other room as Katie was exasperated by LeighAshley and at times my voice joined the “let’s just get out of here” choir. It was spiraling out of control fast. I had lost it. We got in the car and as we drove down the road I heard my little girl ask, “Mommy, ok?” She was responding to my tears. “Yes, Mommy is ok.” I told my boy he looked handsome and gave him kisses telling him I’d be there for the fun in a few hours. As he jumped from the car, I just began to cry even more. LeighAshley and I repeated our early dialogue many times between the school and home. I was a wreck and honestly I didn’t know why.
Fast-forward two hours and I rolled into the school ready to join my son. I look around at kids in an array of outfits, most of which weren’t the strict guidelines that had taken over in my head. Lots of jeans with black shirts, oatmeal colored sweaters, one even in a neon sweatsuit and I realized, I had lost my ever loving mind!!! Why? Why had I made something so simple and unimportant the King of my morning. How had I let this consume me to the level of receiving a First Class trip on the crazy train?
The fun started with cookie decorating then onto games and crafts. My son sat working on his turkey craft and sang a song about majoring in the minors and my heart sank inside my chest. I looked at him and said, “Sweetie, that is what mom did this morning, can you forgive me?” He was quick to hug me and was definitely fine with moving on. We had a great time, and I have a sweet memory with my son, his class, teachers and other parents from the day. It was epic.
There is a lesson here. I am a prime example of how we as moms can make a mountain out of a mole hill. Where do the priorities go when our hair is on fire and we are running around in an undefinable stream of insanity?
What matters most? I want my kids to feel loved and special. I want them to know what matters most is who they are and how they treat people, not what outfit they are wearing. The funny thing was, all that stress, and I had a handful of compliments on his jacket. You know the one he was growing out of with a hole in the sleeve. Geez! Reality check party of one, and yet, I’d venture to say, I am not alone in this boat. Stop and ask, is what I am freaking out about - inwardly or outwardly - a major or minor issue? If its minor, let it go, we have far too many major issues to worry about! Let me be your lesson for the day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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