In August 2008, I was getting ready to begin graduate school, my husband was finishing the last leg of his second deployment to the Middle East, I had spent the past year molding myself into my own arbitrary idea of the perfect Army wife, and I suddenly found myself staring in disbelief at two pink lines on a stick. I was going to become a mother -- a full two or three years than my husband and I had planned. I spent the next several months in organizational overdrive (between bouts of never-ending “morning” sickness and ditching Anatomy & Physiology due to outright exhaustion). While not always the perfect housekeeper (oddly enough), I had been a bit obsessive about my to-do lists and organization for as long as anyone could remember, and I was determined to continue that pattern, perfect the housekeeping part, and not let one single slide when it came it to my child.
Four years later, I’m no longer in graduate school, I’m less obsessive about my lists (though I still find them calming), and while I’ve let plenty slide, I’m a mommy to a very happy 3-year-old (with another on the way). Oh, and my housekeeping? Still FAR from perfect. (Seriously. If you can’t stand a mess, you better not visit my house without giving me a warning.) And I couldn’t be happier. The simple truth is that the traditional idea of SuperMom, at least to me, is a myth. But that doesn’t mean we can’t all be Not-So-SuperMoms -- each and every one us, stay-at-home moms, work-at-home moms, work-outside-the-home moms, or mom-that-doesn’t-fit-into-any-of-the-listed-categories. We don’t have to be domestic divas, our kids’ teacher’s favorite volunteer, the scout leader, the super shopper, or anything else. We only have to be ourselves -- parents -- and use our own abilities to put smiles on our kids’ faces and bring peace to our own lives. It’s that simple -- and that super.
So, here it is: my own musings on parenthood, my ideas on keeping the house running smoothly (mostly), how I try to put a smile on my little one’s face. And maybe along the way, I’ll get to know some of you other blissfully happy, super “Not-So-SuperMoms” and share your ideas, as well.
