For Those With Do-It-All-itis

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Have you ever noticed how women have this sort of expectation that we're supposed to do it all? It's evident everywhere.

For example, I decided to be brave last Friday and take all four of my young kidlets to Burger King for lunch and then to Walmart for new shoes. The men I ran into would generally comment, "You've got a big crew with you today" or "They look just like you" or "Here let me help you with the door." The women made comments like, "I don't know how you do it all with four kids!" or "How do you manage it all?"

See what I mean? Men see four kids and a mom. That's it. Period. Women see four kids, a mom, a house that needs maintained, meals that need cooked, groceries that need bought, bodies that need bathed and clothed, a social life that needs maintained... and on and on.

And for some weird reason, they seem to think I do it all.

Guess what? I don't!

Nah, if you were a fly on my shoulder for a day, you would laugh. Seriously. Most days, I feel like I live in pure chaos. It's not just because I have four kids, but it's also because I've yet to figure out that I can't do it all. I try. Everyday, I try.

I go to bed at night guilty.

Guilty of not being a patient, attentive mom. Guilty of not doing the dishes. Guilty of forgetting to take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer. Guilty of being fed up with a cluttered house and not getting around to decluttering it. Guilty of drinking Dr. Pepper and not dieting. Guilty of forgetting to teach my children the value of hard work. Guilty of not getting enough work done. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

Why? Because I don't get anything done. Oh, don't worry. I start a good many things. I run wilding around my pie chart day, slapping each slice of pie, but never actually managing to focus long enough on one of them to accomplish anything.

Why? Because I try to do it all. I can't wash the dishes without feeling guilty for not playing more with the kids. I can't play with the kids without feeling guilty for not cleaning the house. And on and on.

But I think I'm slowly learning that it's ok to not do everything. It's ok if my mother in law washes my dishes. It's ok if I leave the messy couch untouched today. It's ok to occasionally have an "ignore the kids" day. It's ok to admit that I need help. It's ok to not be supermom. It really is.

Why? Because I can do ANYTHING!!! Well.... if I stay focused on that one thing. Whichever task I set out to do needs to be my focused task, no matter how many squirrels run by. I cannot allow myself to think of all the other things on my to do list {which, by the way, far surpasses the length of Santa's naughty and nice list}.

I need to just say to myself, "I can do this, but I can't do everything."

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And because I love music and lyrics, here are two songs that go beautifully with my current "God's lesson in session". (If you're like me and you hate music videos {totally ruins my mental pictures}, then tab back here while you listen. ha ha.)

Do Everything - Steven Curtis Chapman

Strong Enough - Matthew West