This thought has been on my mind as I’ve been prepping for Part Two of “Do You, Mama! Do you.” Which I had planned on writing today, but, rain threatened all day long and when my husband took the car for an errand over forty-five minutes away that was a complete bust, he left me alone with the kids. All. Day. Long. And everytime I tried to write, a child wanted my attention. Which for an awesome pirate themed summer planning mom should work out great, right? Don’t I have a skull and crossbones chest of spectacular crafts awaiting my littles? Uh…well…no…not exactly. Because this week I’m prepping for vacation, starting a new part-time job, and joining the planning team of a VBS and then next week I’m on vacation so I planned for the pirate themed adventures to begin in two weeks. I did not however, plan for a scattered thunderstormy Monday after a weekend of traveling to New Hampshire twice to pick up a son and then deliver a son to camp.
So we stayed inside waiting for the rain, watching movies, eating popcorn and sugar snap peas, listening to Bill Harley, doing laundry, and for a brief special moment, it was perfection. Then the witching hour hit and I decided that these children needed to get outside and out from under me and if it rains while we’re out— oh well! Summer is for running in the rain barefoot and brave, anyway. So we went to the store where I showed T.J. how to read the ingredients and find the dyes, sugars, and preservatives he should avoid. Then I bought a pack of six organic, vegan ice cream sandwiches that cost more than my venti latte at Starbucks and we stepped back into the soft rain to walk home. I gave the babies their ice cream and let then run ahead with their flip flop slapping the sidewalk. When we got home, I made red beans and rice because nothing warms the body like spicy, comfort food from the Big Easy. And I sat down to write you an apology for not having Part Two up yet, but I don’t know that “I’m sorry” is the right sentiment. Because today, I lived the number one rule of “Do You, Mama!” and it’s to embrace presence over perfection. Shauna Niequest has a whole chapter on this in “Bread and Wine” and it was both confirming and convicting. We try so hard to be perfect fill-in-the-blank, but our families and friends and God only ask us to be present.
Today, we were supposed to go to the park and I’d write five tips to be true to yourself —and that will come lovelies, I promise— but in order for me to be the best mom I could be in today, I had to be present and put aside the dream of a perfect mom who balances babies and blogging all on one hip. That perfect woman is the fearsome and fake fantasy me. I choose the real, present, flawed, but fun me.
I was present today, not perfect and I’m pretty proud of myself. Being present not perfect is the truest, clearest, most authentic approach a mom can have. So, I’m going to put up “Part Two” soon, hopefully it’ll be live tomorrow afternoon because the kids have a library program and I’ll get a full two hours of quiet to write. Oh glory be!
Until then, enjoy this Facebook status on our way to the store in the rain:
Do You, Mamas– presently, not perfectly! Do You,
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