Details Details

stress

I’m a big-picture kind of person. When I have to focus on specific things – in my job, for example – I’m fine. When trying to get myself and a child out the door in the morning… no. I can handle three, maybe four details. The rest? Pffft. Details details.

Case in point: this mornng. I got my daughter to the sitter’s with breakfast in her tummy, clothing on her back, diapers in her supply bag, and a smile on her face. At the sitter’s I realized I had not brushed her hair, despite bringing a brush into the kitchen for that very purpose. Her little curls were all matted and will probably look even worse when I pick her up this evening.

I got to work and looked over at my passenger seat to see her sippy, still filled with juice, sitting there looking lonely. Then I got out of the car to find I had forgotten my own coat. The temperature dropped 30 degrees since I entered the office. I’m going to be in bad shape at the end of the day.

Do any other working moms (or moms in general, for that matter) ever feel like they’re holding on by their fingernails?

I see children who are well-coiffed and moms who look cool and collected everywhere. I know moms who never miss a birthday card when sometimes it’s all I can do to send an email. I tell myself it’s all because I’m not very good with details, but it would sure help if I could blame it, just a little bit, on the whole working mom thing.

How ’bout it, ladies?

2 thoughts on “Details Details

  1. I think every mom can relate. Details get dropped all the time.

    You know, I think that’s one reason women live longer than men. Moms get a daily mental work-out trying to keep track of all the details our families’ lives.

  2. GIRLFRIEND! You described what I consider a SUCCESSFUL morning drop-off/start to my day. Look, if you’re going to feel bad about not brushing your daughter’s hair, you’ll drive yourself into a nervous breakdown before she’s old enough to pierce something. Stop looking at the half empty glass…what you DID do was far more important. She arrived healthy and happy…there’s the big picture for you. And stop comparing yourself to these “stepford” moms with their “perfect” children. I am the product of one of those “perfect” homes (just ask my sister, marla) and I can tell you that we were far from perfect. Oh-we LOOKED put together, but many mornings were complete with screaming, hitting, and verbal abuse just so that we could look “perfect” in the chuch pew.
    What do YOU remember from your childhood? Do you remember the time your mother cleaned the bathroom so well that you could eat off of the floor? or do you remember playing in the snow until you were frozen, only to come inside and mom would have hot chocolate and cookies. We don’t remember the big, wet mess all those snow clothes made, that the hot chocolate was instant, the cookies=cut and bake. Children need the big picture stuff…food, clothing, shelter, love, and a mother who doesn’t get stressed about appearances and judgemental strangers. F#@^ the details.

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