No matter how long you’ve been a mom, whether you’re a stay at home or a working mom, we all have on thing in common…we are or we have been exhausted.
From late night conversations to middle of the night feedings, to running errands between cleaning and cooking, moms run from the time the sun is up (or even before) until long after it is down.
As moms we do have a lot to do and some periods of time in our lives leave us more exhausted than others, but there is one thing that we either forget or we don’t truly understand it.
Moms can’t live and function exhausted forever.
We all have a particular amount of time on which we can function with very little to no sleep, but eventually we will experience the crash and burn. Some of us get physically ill, others will require family’s help in establishing a schedule or help in caring for the home, on and on the list could go. When moms strive to do everything on our own and please everyone each day, they will become exhausted.
So, how can we as moms keep ourselves from being exhausted?
1. Give ourselves grace.
We must accept that we can’t do everything all the time and then we must give ourselves grace for the things we don’t get done.
2. Follow a cleaning schedule.
Moms typically know what each day’s activities are, so we know what day we will likely have time to tackle cleaning the entire kitchen and what day we can just barely squeeze in sweeping the deck. Take time to plan out your cleaning schedule so you don’t stress about what you forgot to do or run out of time when music lessons keep you away from home half the day.
3. Engage family members in helping clean the family home.
Moms don’t live alone nor do we make all the messes in our home. From toddlers helping pick up their toys to older children vacuuming the stairs and folding laundry, we need to ensure we’re enlisting our family’s help in keeping out home clean. After all, if we don’t teach our kids to clean up after themselves how will they know what to do in their own homes?
4. Sleep.
Moms have to sleep. Sometimes a nap with the little ones is required, but we need to strive to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. We will function best when we’ve slept well and we will be less stressed with the next days tasks and to do lists.
5. Make time daily for fun.
There will always be times when there is cleaning that needs to be done or an extra meal that could be made for another day. By taking time daily to read with our kids, watch a movie or enjoying a date night in with our husbands, we will be refreshing ourselves for the tasks that life ahead.
Moms don’t have to live their entire lives exhausted and each mom’s exhaustion level is different. In a mom’s life there are different times when life will be more exhausting than others, this is when accepting grace for ourselves and giving grace to other moms becomes key.
If you don’t take anything else from the rest of this post, please hear my heart here…
If you’re able to lend a hand to help another mom, then reach out and offer grace. Exhausted mom, be sure you accept that help and her grace, it may not come again if you don’t. It’s time that moms stop tearing each other down and instead reach our and lift each other up.
If you’re exhausted today, take time to rest. Leave the laundry and cleaning for later, they will wait, I promise!
If you know a mom who is exhausted, reach out and offer to watch the kids for a bit, bring dinner over or give her and her hubby a night out.
Moms can make a huge difference in each other’s families, if we all would come together and help each other along the way. Who knows we might even be able to say goodbye to being exhausted?
How do you keep from becoming an exhausted mom?
