What I’ve Learned About Juggling Life as a Mom in a Pandemic
The juggling act of a lifetime—is a mother during a pandemic! I mean, why go to the circus when you can just look in the mirror? ;) All the extra tasks we’ve taken on as mothers through the recent COVID-19 outbreak is really quite remarkable—such as teachers, daycare providers, coaches, playmates, cooks and more. Things haven’t been perfect in our house the past few months—they’ve actually been rather messy. It’s been exhausting, headache-inducing, and stressful. BUT, our lives have also been full of more quality family time and productivity (i.e. twin potty training and lots of closet organization in our case!). As someone who likes to travel, talk to people, go to restaurants, and experience new things, I found the stay-at-home orders really tough. I’m also a perfectionist and this pandemic really tested me--because NOTHING has been perfect. Through the messy times, though, I’ve learned that I should NOT beat up on myself and wanted to share a few thoughts with other moms that may be feeling the same way. Here is what I’ve learned as a mother through this crazy pandemic:
1. This is hard, I can’t do it all, and THAT’S OKAY!
I'm a pediatric nurse practitioner working the frontlines in a pulmonary unit, I run a twin mom blog, and oh--let’s not forget that part where I’m responsible for wrangling twin toddlers for 12 hours straight, constantly trying to find new/fun activities to keep two kids happy (AND excited, learning, and entertained!), cleaning, laundry, taking care of the dogs, and preparing every meal we eat—all without being able to leave the house. There are definitely areas I have not excelled in (you should see how high our piles of laundry get!) and my head feels like it’s constantly spinning. I often have to re-center myself, though, and remember that I am only one human—not one billion humans—and I can’t do everything perfectly. We must be easy on ourselves when we are wearing so many different hats at home, especially during these unique circumstances!
2. It takes some real creativity to keep kids entertained at home all day.
SO MUCH ingenuity needed! I’ve had to look in new places for entertainment—like the empty toilet paper rolls that we turned into megaphones and the old pregnancy books that we turned into new “reading material” for the kids. Talk about having to exercise your creative muscles! Some days I’m good at this, and other days I just totally fail. And for those days that I fail, jump down to #3 and #4 on this list to see what I turn to in those cases. Ha!
3. When all else fails, just add water (to playtime).
Thank goodness for baths, sinks, blow-up pools, water play tables, and garden hoses! Because whenever the tantrums start rolling in, I turn on the water and the smiles usually return.
4. Screen time has been up a little bit, and I’m okay with it.
I know I’m not the only one! Between people having zoom work calls, distance learning, and just trying to catch a moment to breathe, I’m sure most parents can relate to the increase in screen time. It’s just been about survival mode around here—so I don’t feel too badly about that extra cartoon my kids got to watch each day. They’ll be just fine in the long-run and it doesn’t make me a bad parent.
5. Family time is so incredibly precious and I’m glad we got more of it.
My husband just went back to work in the office in the beginning of May. For the 2 months before that, though, he was working from our bathroom at my make-up desk. It was a funny sight to see—that’s for sure! ;) But, having him home every day was nice because we were able to eat lunch together and we got back the time he would have otherwise been driving to/from work. The increase in family time was probably one of my favorite silver linings to this whole situation!
6. Cooking all day, every day shouldn’t be the expectation right now.
When you’re juggling all of the above AND you’re a chef to two 2.5-year-old "No!" and "I don't like that!" enthusiasts, it’s okay to find alternatives that make life just a little bit easier right now. One of my favorite ready-to-eat solutions is Malt-O-Meal (MOM) cereal for the kids--because being a mom right now is really dang hard on top of all of the roles we are already trying to fulfill. Sometimes cooking just falls to the bottom of the priority list when you’re short on time, energy, and supplies. Malt-O-Meal cereal is super tasty (just ask my twins!), perfect for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks, it’s less costly, and just plain EASY. With over 30 varieties (Berry Colossal CrunchⓇ, is my twins’ favorite kind), Malt-O-Meal cereal is a crowd-pleaser in our house! Check it out here!
7. We deserve a break.
Moms DO need a break--and I wish I could shout that through a megaphone! It’s hard to continue taking care of others if we don’t take care of ourselves. Whether it’s a date night at a local restaurant or a relaxing day at the spa, hard work deserves a little reward (as soon as it’s safely possible). And in order to help us all do that and have something to look forward to, Malt-O-Meal is hosting a giveaway of $30,000 worth of personalized gifts from local businesses (plus Malt-O-Meal cereal!) to honor all of the extra work that moms are doing right now (two $500 gifts each day for 30 days, totaling $30,000) now through June 25. Head over to the Malt-O-Meal cereal Facebook page to enter to win! YOU DESERVE IT!
8. We are all just doing the absolute best we can!
And that’s all we can do. Our best IS good enough during these unprecedented times and that’s all that matters.
Keep your head up and know that nobody is perfect (during a pandemic or not) and instead of beating yourself up, just build yourself up—because you are one incredible juggling act, Mama!
