Contentment is defined as a state of happiness or satisfaction. That ought to be easy, right? Life is mostly good in these parts. In all honesty I am blessed beyond belief. kids, husband, family, friends, home, vacation. Life truly is good.
I blab constantly to my amazing, yet sometimes spoiled kids, about how great their lives are and how they should be more grateful, more content. Easier said than done.
Watch out for mom….
I find myself being grumpy. Grumpy with my kids, my husband, anyone that crosses my path. I’m tired; stretched thin; exhausted from meeting the needs of five people everyday and literally having nothing done at the end of the day that doesn’t have to be done all over again tomorrow. It’s not a physical exhaustion. It’s mental. Life can get repetitive.
I’m a homeschool mom to four kids. My husband and I chose this lifestyle after a lot of thought. It affords us an amazing amount of freedom and time together. It also comes with a certain amount of pressure to fulfill the needs of my little people in their entirety that I might not have otherwise.
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Would I change our circumstances- a resounding no! Just because we chose this lifestyle does not mean there are not day to day challenges, as there are for everyone.
The trick, for me, seems to be in coming to terms with the fact that not everyday has to be awesome, amazing, idyllic. Some days are less fun than others. I’m not a bad mom for not enjoying the morning filled with temper tantrums and sibling squabbles. Normal, it’s called normal. Sometimes the best we can manage is to make it though to the other side.
Being content when days are less than perfect is key.
Life isn’t perfect. Perfect kids and parents are just as hard to come by. Note to self; enjoy them anyways.
Contentment breeds contentment.
As hard is it can be to “live” contentment I am super good at preaching about it to my kids. I point out all the advantages that fill their days. They ought to be grateful, darn it. Ummmm, kettle black??
My kids lack the social media experience. My fourteen year old assures me he is the only peer that isn’t snapchatting and instagram-ming his little heart out.
While I know this a source of connection for his friends it’s something I’m okay with him missing out on. Watching the high points of other people’s lives does not breed contentment.
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The contented state of mind…..
I suffer from this crippling thing called “trying to make the most of every single moment.” In reality my planning and figuring sometimes sucks the fun right out of our days. Our best family days are sometimes the most ordinary days of all. On occasion I have missed seeing the beauty of said “regular” day till afterwards because I was on the hunt for a way to make it better!
This little book, Only Love Today, is a favorite of mine. I actually talked about in my post about keeping a growth mindset. (There more pretty quotes there if you like these!) It’s such a winner for me because it only takes a few minutes to read each day’s passage. Rachel Macy Stafford does such a succinct job of reminding us of why motherhood is so hard, and wonderful, and messy, and important.
No more better days seems counterintuitive, but it’s not!
Regular days are the stuff of family life.
Repeat after me…. “I will enjoy the ordinary!”
Share these quotes about contentment. Pin ’em to your bulletin board, tuck them in your planner, let them remind you of all the good in life!
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