Even though I’m a 30-something mom, I don’t feel like I’m a 30-something mom. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
I certainly don’t dress like my age, and I still love all the things I did in my youth (to an extent), but if anything, having children has made my interests in the things I cherished in my younger years a little stronger, but also, made me feel older in general as an adult who is a parent. I have a connection to memories as a little girl that come up more often now then ever now that I’m a mother. Does that make sense?
I’ll admit – I love getting involved in what Landon and Nathan are playing with, and it’s important to me to show them how as their mom, I want to be involved in whatever they are doing – even if it means I have to clean up the mess afterward.
And if you think buying things for yourself is fun, when you have children, it takes on a whole different joy. I find myself picking up toys for them during shopping trips for things I hadn’t planned to buy. Knowing (and hoping) that what I’m getting them will bring some glimmer of happiness for a moment makes the anticipation of giving them something exciting! And I’m still very young at heart, which explains why I can’t let go of admiration for bright colors and hold on to the joy I get from little things… like rainbow balloons from burton+burton. Stuff like this reminds me of being a child, and now as a mother, I get to bring out some of my inner little girl to the way I approach teaching the boys about sharing and interacting with others.
But, life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine… but it can be inside your home no matter what the weather is outside. Keep your children happy, and don’t worry about what other people, or parents, think of you. You do what’s right for your family, and no one else should make you feel bad for not being a picture-perfect parent. I’m certainly not. I just do what I think is right by them, and I also continue to being myself regardless of what my age or priorities as a mom dictates I should be.
Everyone will give you opinions of what you should be doing, but what I’ve learned is that what works for you might not work for me and my kids. Raising children is sometimes hard, but full of a lot of happiness, joy and rewarding moments… like when your children run up to you and give you hugs for no reason. Make everyday be a rainbows and sunshine day even on the darkest days. You owe it to yourself, and to your kids.