Written by Rebecca York at yorkwellness.blogspot.com.
Before I had children, I knew for sure the kind of mother I would be:
1. I would NEVER give into my screaming kids like the ones I’ve seen in stores and airplanes.
2. I would be giddy in delight as I faced ANY interactions with my children. Surely, I will always be blessed with gratitude at every waking moment.
3. My children would easily follow right into “my” schedule. After all, they came into MY life….
4. I would still work yet, I would be there for everything, everywhere, for everyone, with an eager smile on my face, open arms, with freshly baked superior-state-of-the-art-cup-cakes.
5. I would never scream, spank, yell, threaten, or bribe my beautiful young offspring – EVER!
Then, I had children.
My Zen-ish-June-Cleaver-with-an-apron mirage has now become a permanent state of a raging, raving rock-star groupie, screaming at the top of my lungs over the music, computer, cat-fights, lost ipods, the UPS guy knocking at the door, the barbie jeep motoring around the house, and the oven-continually buzzing that my dinner is way overdone. Most of time I seem to be more out of control than my three young daughters.
What do I do?
Breathe! I tell my children, “Ok, Mommy needs to take a quiet moment.” The same thing I tell them to do when they need a break as well. I walk into my bedroom, gently close the door (although I’ve been known to slam it), walk into my bathroom (shut that door), then into my closet and close that door as well. This seems more like I am really going to a relaxing retreat than say, the garage. I stand in the dark and breathe. I calmly, slowly, deeply breathe. Soon, my mind becomes silent and kind. Life is good like that. Each minute is a beautiful opportunity to begin anew. I breathe in again and then exhale. “I am blessed,” is my self-directing mantra. “I am blessed.”
Although we often feel miles away and radically out of control, our mind, heart, body and soul are only a few breaths away from re-balance. It truly only takes a quiet moment to re-route ourselves back to center. Breathing keeps us present, enabling us to see much more clearly, respond more calmly, act more divinely, give more soulfully. And we don’t need to berate ourselves or feel guilty for the continued stumbles. Mothering is a crazy nut show sprinkled with love and laughter. We get knocked off course almost hourly. But yet, a simple pause and deep breathing, we can reset the whole system again. So next time your in the midst of a storm take a short moment to retrieve the calm, loving, kind and compassionate-dream-mom you already are. You can return to yourself, as yourself, and enjoy your crazy life again. Live Well!