I made a commitment to post positive on social media, which means that it is my heart to put what is good, peaceful, happy and pleasant on my own feed, since there is so much of the opposite out there. But I’m not a Supermom, and my life is not perfect, and I want everyone to know, every mom to know, that while my positive posts may represent to the world that we’re “slaying” it as a family, the play by play sometimes doesn’t feel so victorious.
Since social media is full of photoshopped and filtered images of happy families, I thought I’d present the unfiltered, word-view of my life. And the title of this post, A Day in the Life of a Supermom, is just that. A day in my life. But I am just one supermom. There are a ba-jillion of you out there. And every one of you is SUPER.
6:00 am: My alarm goes off. It’s late. Husbands normally goes off at 4:30 am, but it’s his day off. We both get up and get moving.
6:05 am: I use the restroom. The bathroom break in the morning before the kids wake up is a serene experience that many mothers will understand. It is the last time of the day that I will use the restroom when nature calls, and not be forced to delay my urges for hours or longer.
6:07 am: I wake up Daniel for the first time.
6:15 am: I come downstairs and he is already eating and reading his Bible. I make a pot of coffee. While it’s brewing, I head upstairs to wake Daniel again, who needs to take a bath before school. I run his bath.
6:20 am: I pull up my Bible reading for the day. Don’t believe the hype. It is my INTENT to read scripture every day, but I am a flawed superheroine, and this day I did, but many days I don’t make it to the computer, OR the prayer room.
6:45 am: I head upstairs and find Daniel asleep in the bathtub. I wash his hair vigorously to wake him up. I knock on Jacob’s door.
7:00 am: A groggy Daniel appears in the dining room and requests yogurt for breakfast. Mike is checking email at his computer.
7:15 am: Jacob appears downstairs and both boys inhale yogurt while I read a section of scripture (parables from Matthew 18) to them. Mike talks to them about the scripture.
7:30 am: Daniel leaves for the bus on his bike, after returning two or three times for things he forgot. I reheat my coffee for the 80th time. Supermom. That’s me.
7:40 am: I run upstairs and choose my clothing for the day. I take my shirt downstairs because it needs to be ironed, set up the iron and run upstairs to do my hair. Mike leaves for a bike ride.
7:45 am: Jacob offers to iron my shirt for me and returns with it looking wrinkled. He’s so proud, I tell him he’s done a great job, and I put it on and finish doing my hair and makeup.
7:50 am: I come downstairs and agree to play 10 minutes of monopoly with sweet Jacob and find the iron laying face down on the ironing board, still plugged in. There is an iron shaped burn on the board. I instruct Jacob (without yelling) why the iron can’t be stored like that. Make a mental note to teach both boys how to safely operate the iron. I need to go to the bathroom, I can do it after I get the boys to school.
8:10 am: I’m winning in Monopoly. Jacob heads off to the bus and I rush to pack my lunch. I have to leave in time to get ahead of the bus or I will be late for work.
8:15 am: I pass Jacob waiting for the bus, and wave goodbye. He’s embarrassed to hug his mom because he’s a big kid now. I forgot to go to the bathroom, but I can do it when I get to work.
8:20 am: I’m ahead of the bus. Yay. But behind everyone else in the world on their way to work. I call my mom, who says hi, but seems to want to get her day moving already. I keep her on the phone for ten more minutes to unload all my stress from the day before.
8:30am: Listen to Matt Maher and Toby Mac on the way in to work. Think about all of my to do’s. My boss is sick with the Flu, so I’m standing in for her this week, doing her job and mine as best I can (which isn’t that great, she’s not so easily replaced) for a few days.
9:00 am: At work. It’s the second day for a new hire and the intern arrives on time. Send out a quick email to my boss outlining the direction for the day for the team in case she has other ideas.
9:05 am: Don’t get to finish giving direction to the team when Kasie calls. She had fraud on her card and we need to contact the bank. She’s not skilled with these kinds of calls yet, so I need to do a conference call with her and the bank to get it taken care of. It’s cumbersome because the bank wants to read her an agreement and get her permission before even talking about the fraud.
9:15 am: Done with bank call. Kasie’s got a new card ordered. Texts me for another half an hour in distress because it’s very difficult for a person with autism to understand why someone would steal her card numbers and try to steal her money. She feels like she could have done something to prevent it and can’t let go.
10:00 am: Assigned two last-minute e-blasts, both for big customers. Many multiple edits and redesigns, going to the bathroom can wait.
11:00 am: Kasie’s father texts me. Last week, Kasie lost a precious necklace that was given to her by her now-deceased Grandpa. All of it was returned except the #35 charm that was very special. It was returned to her, but has been run over by a bus, so needs some repairs. Celebration!!! She then texts Dad and says that she felt her neck, and the rest of the necklace is gone again. Poor child, my stomach tenses in a knot, because I feel like she can’t catch a break these days.
12:00 pm: Still managing e-blasts, last-minute promotional posts for clients, planning ads for the month, rescheduling conference calls and managing the two lovely women in my office who need direction. I guzzle two diet cokes to keep me moving. I eat the salad I packed for myself while working on the e-blasts.
1:00 pm: Kasie finds her necklace. But is still texting me repeatedly about being nervous about school and her Precalculus class which she is struggling in. This kid needs a break. She works so hard.
2:00 pm: It’s time for me to leave for the day, but I’m nowhere close to done. Text husband to see if he’s home so I can stay a little longer. He answers, stay as long as you like. I’m supermom! I can do it all!
4:00 pm: I must leave work, even though I have a few more hours of work left to do. I really need to go to the bathroom, but I can do it when I get home. The client with one of the complete e-blasts asks for another one to be done. Begin putting it together before leaving.
4:45 pm: Arrive home to Jacob waving hi to me from the second story window he plays a joke on me by telling me he got a negative referral at school. I believe him. Stress. Daniel and Mike are doing homework, and both are extremely tense. Yep. It’s math. Mike tells Daniel he can’t go to science night at school unless he gets it finished and does his chores.
5:00 pm: Daniel and Mike go out to do their chores and I feed Jacob some leftovers. I check my work email 800 times for updates and changes to the eblast.
5:30 pm: We head to science night, because I believe I am Supermom and I can do it all! Mike can’t go, he has a conference call. While there, I receive a work email that I’ve posted a screenshot on a national retail client’s Facebook page and boosted it. Ugh. I run to the car and try to fix the post, but my passwords are at work and there’s no signal in the school parking lot. My phone battery is at 3%.
6:30 pm: I endure the science night at school, all the while wondering how many thousands of people have seen my mistake on behalf of the client. Rush the children home, send them up to take baths while Mike finishes his call. Feed the kids a bedtime snack, and finally fix the Facebook Flub and send a quick apology out to the client.
7:00 pm: Pay a kid’s doctor bill. Manage other family accounting issues that can’t wait. I need to use the restroom. I don’t have time. Kids are upstairs getting ready for bed. Mike manages them because he sees I’m crazy stressed.
7:30 pm: Kasie texts because the dining hall won’t take a $50 bill and that’s all she has because her card is canceled. She must walk down to chick fil a. Or bus. I don’t know. But why can’t anything be easy for her. I feel so sad for her.
8:15 pm: Kasie’s tutor messages me that she didn’t show up for her tutoring appointment. I start calling her, she doesn’t answer. I really need to go to the bathroom, but there’s no time.
8:30 pm: Kasie texts that she can’t talk, she’s getting on her tutoring appointment. I wonder why she was late, which is not like her. My shoulders are so tense, I feel like bricks are piled on them. She has a test tomorrow and she’s been preparing all week. I remind myself to pray for her in the morning. I say goodnight to the boys and pray for her while I head for the bathtub. While there, I weigh myself. I gained a pound today. How is that possible. Did I even eat dinner tonight? I can’t remember.
9:00 pm: I fall in bed and tell my sweet husband that I can’t imagine being more stressed. I’m worried about Kasie, I’m worried about work, I’m worried…he holds me while I worry. I am not a Supermom.
9:05 pm: I fall asleep. My last thought before I surrender to exhaustion is. I have to go to the bathroom. I guess I’ll do that in the morning. At night, I dream that I come home from a long trip, and Tolstoy is there to greet me.
Note to all Supermoms: We are all struggling every day to get all our stuff done, to take care of our kids and our husbands. We forget to take care of ourselves. We forget to eat and to go to the bathroom.
When you’re on an airplane, the flight attendant goes over the emergency exit procedures. She demonstrates how you should put the oxygen mask on yourself FIRST, before assisting others.
Why am I forgetting that? Why are we forgetting that? You would think after my SLOW DOWN post a few weeks ago, I would have learned. Way to go, Supermom.
Supermoms, you’re not alone in your struggle. I’m here, with you. Even though that ONE picture I posted on Instagram looked perfect, our lives are not. They are blessed and messy and stressful and scary.
Take care of yourself first, Supermom.
This morning, when I woke up, the first thing I did was GO TO THE BATHROOM.
Then, I went to my oxygen mask, the Bible, and read scripture. And I escaped into my safe place, the prayer room, and unburdened myself through tears.
Supermoms, I’ve got you. You can be you with me. And you can always be you with God. And you ARE a supermom.
I still don’t know how I gained a pound yesterday, though.