Thank you "Soule Mama"

I recently changed the name of my blog because I wanted to be clear about who I am. I want to project a realistic image, recording the joys and challenges of motherhood. I have such a strong desire to be a great Mom, but I always feel like I fall short. Perhaps my expectations and hopes are too high. Surely they are. And so I've learned to "give myself a break" and to give myself some credit. Hence, I'm a Super Mom, but I'm no Supermom. I'm doing great, but I can't do it all.

A year or two ago my friend got me hooked on a Amanda Soule's blog. She's a creative mother of four, a writer, a knitter, a sewer, who lives in the northeastern USA and she is SO inspiring.

I finally picked up her book, The Creative Family, from the library a couple of weeks ago. It's an easy and inspiring read. I was so encouraged by it because I already do many of the things and include many of the things in my home that she suggests. It was also a good reminder of many things I once set out to do yet since forgot. I think I'm going to get Glenn to read it, just so we can be on the same page and work towards sharing some of these goals and philosophies, since we are truly a parenting team.

Anyway, I was literally just thinking about Soule Mama yesterday, wondering how she does it. Her life appears to be surrounded by such beauty and creativity and peace and overall 'wonderfulness'. I couldn't help but wonder how she does it. It looks so easy.

But I just read what she had to say today. And it turns out, that just yesterday, she was having "one of those days"! And somehow, that gave me such a sense of relief. Here I want to share the most inspiring bit of what she had to say. It reminds me of my life and my boys. And how many of "those days" of mine really do contain such inspiring, re-centering words of wonder from a child.

Yesterday - one of those long and nutty days of mess and chaos - never really let up. It grew and snowballed all day long until bedtime, when I found myself slinging Harper [baby] and reading to the boys. Rocking back and forth amidst the mess on the floor that hadn't been cleaned up from the day, my mind was racing with discouraging thoughts of how the day had gone...and overwhelming lists of things I still had yet to do. And just about then...well, just then I tripped on one of Ezra's colored pencils - banana peel style - and landed squarely on my butt on the floor.

And just as I was deciding whether I was going to cry (and give up) or laugh (and give in), Harper stopped crying. And the boys started laughing.

And then Calvin said this to me:

"Mom. Can you even believe he's here? Like, before he was born, we went more places and stuff. But now? Now we have the coolest person in the world right here! With us! Every day!"

I've never heard anything more true in my life. Except that it's multiplied times four.

My days (and hands) are full in the truest sense of that word.