As a mom of two toddlers, my mind is always racing. Whether it’s going over my to-do list, upcoming appointments for the kids, expanding the ever-growing grocery list, or finally getting around to vacuuming the car seats that are growing things that should probably be submitted to a lab for examination… my mind is never “off”. Because of this, I often have many things on the go. If you’re a mom, chances are you are impeccable at multi-tasking. However, for me, I have a hard time slowing down.
If something pops into my mind, I have to do it now. No, not on the weekend, not in a couple hours, I need to do it right this second, incase I forget to do it and it becomes lost in my never-ending to-do list. Sometimes my racing mind can also lead to not actively listening when someone is speaking to me; I’m in a rush to get to the next task to check another thing off my list. Regardless, I do think that although this may be a flaw that could use some polishing (in terms of letting the small stuff go), it is truly one of my strengths. I have the ability to multitask, am extremely organized and rarely forget things because of the many lists I keep.
Do I need to accept that having two toddlers results in endless tasks? Yes. Do I still hyperfixate on the crumbs that are over the floor after every meal, endless dishes, the insurmountable loads of laundry, finger prints on every surface… also yes. But when it all becomes overwhelming, I reflect back on a video I saw; the speaker sums up parenthood quite eloquently: “If you’re still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon; and that you will, to your surprise, miss them profoundly.” So maybe I won’t clean the fingerprints the next time I see them… who am I kidding, I definitely will. But I will appreciate them more.
