Guest Post: Peace in Parenting

I'm so excited to share today's guest post from Miranda at A ThankFULL Heart. She's one of my oldest "bloggy" friends, and I'm delighted to be sharing her words with you today.

Miranda, who married her high school sweetheart (I know, straight out of the movies, right?  So sweet.) is mommy to a rambunctious two-year-old.  She started her blog to keep track of her many blessings and to remind herself to always be thankful for each of them.  Miranda blogs about being a mommy, a wife, and trying to keep her sanity through it all. 

You can follow Miranda at A ThankFULL Heart, Pinterest, Twitter, or Facebook.

Parenting is everything I hoped it would be and more and so much more exhausting than I ever knew possible. Every emotion is maximized further than I’ve ever experienced. One day is blissfully easy, and the next day is hard. Parenting is often just that: unpredictable.

With every new experience and every new challenge, I’ve come to one conclusion: I am enough. Every era in time has some sort of conflict that often pits moms against each other. It’s so sad, really. There’s so many things that I could be stressed about, but as long as the important things are taken care of I really don’t need to worry. What does worry accomplish anyway? Here’s some ways I find peace in my parenting: 

Playtime: I drop what I’m doing, be it dishes or sweeping or other household chore that can wait, and I play with my daughter. I really love outdoor play in the summer time since our winter’s don’t make it very easy to enjoy the outside. We play in the sandbox, have wagon rides, swing, slide or make sidewalk art. It doesn’t take long before she doesn’t need me and so I go get a book and read it outside in my lawn chair. The sunshine really calms my mind and running outside really burns off a lot of my daughter’s energy. It provides an opportunity for bonding and I’m reminded that often when my daughter is grumpy or irritable it’s simply because she wants my attention!

Schedule: I’m not big on a strict, regimented routine but I do love some sort of structure. If I plan out my menu plan and to-do list before hand, it really eliminates a lot of stress from being ill-prepared. I like knowing what to make for dinner and even being able to put everything in the slow cooker before hand, so I’m not overwhelmed when my daughter needs me during meal-making. I like being organized so I’m not completely frazzled when something unexpected comes up like messes or potty breaks. It doesn’t always work out as planned but I do try to do a little bit of planning beforehand. 

Relax: It’s okay to not be completely busy all of the time! I do love browsing Pinterest for meal ideas but often I come across ideas that I wish I could do. Sewing seems to be a passion for many moms but it has never piqued my interest. I’ve learned that it’s okay that I don’t do everything. I’m not super crafty and although I download a lot of free, fun PDFs for my daughter to enjoy, they all just sit on my hard drive. And while my daughter doesn’t spend a lot of time doing crafts or tracing letters, she gets a lot of real-life lessons simply be observing me {keeps my accountable :)}.

Every mom has her own strengths. My motto has always been to do what works for you. We all know our own children and what their strengths are and we all have different tools we use to bring that out. Let’s stand strong and unite together because most of us all the same goal in mind - to raise great children. Let’s bring each other up and not tear each other down. 

How do you find peace in parenting?