Don't Give Up

Where did the idea of a perfect mom come from? I mean seriously, where did this imaginary woman that lives in my brain come from? You know the one I am talking about, right? The one with five kids, but still has the perfect body. The mom you see in the store wearing her gym clothes and buying a cart full of stuff with her coupon binder in hand, because she is an extreme couponer. Then you run into her later at the craft store buying all of the odds and ends she will use to hand make her Christmas decorations while you stand there trying to figure out whether to buy a glue stick or a hot glue gun - and by the way - who came up with the word glue gun?  While she is there she will also pick up the materials she needs to sew her daughters elaborate angel costume for the church Christmas play. Did I mention she is CEO of her company and puts in 50 plus hours a week at her job? She always has her hair and nails done and she dresses like a runway model when she is not in her gym clothes....

This morning started off like most of my mornings do. I got up and fixed my coffee, read my devotions, and got my boys up for school.  I usually wait until my boys are almost out of the door before I wake up my daughter. She is seven and she sleeps like she is seventeen. I went upstairs to wake her up but when I did she rolled over and told me she was sick. She said, “Mommy, I can’t go to school today, my throat hurts, my wrist hurts, my tummy hurts, my legs hurt and my feet hurt”.  I did not know how to respond.  She looked like a hot mess. Don’t we all when we first wake up.  Our faces are puffy and we usually have crusty particles in our eyes or even stuck to our cheeks and nose. Maggie had all the above along with Medusa’s hair and red creases where she had lay for too long on one side. This child is a wild sleeper. She kicks, she turns and she sweats.  She looked like she had a restless night; she always looks that way but today I wanted to keep her home w...