Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Can't a girl get a break?

I recently read a blog about a mom who is feeling fed up with the holiday hoopla.  And I get it, it's overwhelming.  Often it doesn't feel as if you can even skip one, even if you have a 2 month old who can care less and a spouse you won't see that day.  I felt that way a lot while living overseas in countries that didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, a toddler who didn't eat solids, and a husband who had to study all day. And yet I had friends in my same situation who made a full turkey dinner and decorated their apartments beautifully on a shoestring budget.
  That being said, this year, for the most inconsequential of holidays, I put extra effort into making St. Patty's Day fun.  Now, I didn't do anything I didn't steal from pinterest, I served store bought Lucky Charms, green milk, and went to the extra measure of leprechaun footprints on the toilet seat. But, as simple as that all sounds, I was so proud of myself for going the extra mile.  This is the same mom who once tried to throw away the clippings from Jackson's first hair cut. ( Tried and failed because my mother-in-law's sentimentality couldn't let it happen.) The same mom who put a sheet with a hole in it over his head for Halloween and called him a ghost.  I feed him processed hot dogs, let him play in pin worm infested sand, ride the subway and forget to wash his hands...the list is endless.  But don't make me feel bad for doing something extra on St. Patty's Day.  I had a victory.  I created a memory for a sweet 4 year old boy who thinks there is nothing funnier than a leprechaun on a toilet. And I didn't do it because I was pressured, pinterest made me, or because I am trying to keep up with the Joneses ( or the amazing Greers in my case :) I did it because I want to be a fun, life loving, celebrate every day I can kinda mom.  That is tough because many days I feel apathetic, tired, overwhelmed, and cranky.  So while I understand we don't all do things the same way, I will take my victories one slimy, green, footprint at a time.