One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is Risen Motherhood. I’m new to the podcast so I’m currently going through some of the older episodes. This Spring the hosts interviewed a woman who was discussing how to make time each day to “eat” what nourishes you: spending time in Scripture, spending time to yourself, spending time doing something you enjoy and other activities that fill your cup.
So why am I talking about eating? The analogy she shared compared snacking to taking bites of time for ourselves. As mom’s do we not snack here and there for the most part? I definitely do. It seems I’m constantly chasing my toddler around and feeding her bites of food. So my meals are consumed, oftentimes, in snacks and little bites here and there. Is it the best way to get nourishment in me? Not necessarily, but it’s working for this chapter.
I am 100% guilty of saying, “I don’t have time to sit down and do (fill in the blank)”. I still stand by this statement, it is very accurate. Juggling motherhood, household duties and my job is exhausting and leaves me craving time for activities I enjoy. The past few months what I have found to be extremely helpful is to do this activities in bite size pieces – aka snacking! Is this ideal, nope Of course, it’s important to take time to sit down and have a meal. But, let’s be real, it’s not always realistic. Especially now for myself as my husband is currently working on a project in a different state, I have no one to “tag in” so I can sit down for a “meal” neither figuratively or literally.
It’s easy to become frustrated and resentful during the chapter of growing your family and raising those tots. I have found myself feeling bitter on more than one occasion and I’m sure I will have those feelings again at some point. Probably today if we are being completely honest! Sometimes I get so angry that I can’t just have a little time to myself, where I don’t have to fill it with household or work duties.
When I break down the activities I like to engage in though, writing, reading, listening to podcasts… RELAXING and place myself in the mindset of filling up on these activities with snacks, it’s very helpful. I may only get to consume these activities in bite size pieces, but by the time I finish all my bites, I’ve written a blog post, listened to a book or podcast in it’s entirety and even watched some TV.
The years we are in the trenches are years of being needed on every level: physically, mentally and surely emotionally. When I get frustrated, I try to change my mindset to what a blessing it is to have this stress. What a beautiful daughter I have. How blessed am I that she wants to be my constant companion in everything day and night! When I really need perspective, I think about what my life will be 10 or 15 years from now, when Adaline and her future siblings are in the tween and teen years. Lord knows, they probably will not want to be around Mommy all day. I already know, I’ll yearn for the days that I had a little one pulling on my shirt to get picked up or asking me to read a book for the tenth time in a row.
So, during these fleeting years of neediness, I will lean on the Lord to help me embrace the chaos and fill my cup by snacking like a mother. Plus, from what I’ve read, small meals / snacks across the day is the best way to keep your metabolism burning efficiently!
Dirty Toes and Mommy Prose 