It's hard to believe it's been one year (as of next week) that I started this Come Weary Moms blog! My heart has always been to bring comfort and encouragement to moms, especially those who are struggling with fatigue, confusion, depression, and anxiety amidst the sometimes overwhelming demands of motherhood. Sometimes the solutions to our problems are deeply spiritual -- and you will find many posts about such topics. But sometimes they are just simple and practical.
I'm a busy home schooling mommy of 10 children, ages 5 to 23, with a baby grandson who often comes to visit us, too! So I don't have the time or energy for anything terribly complicated. This has been especially apparent since my sister brought up the strong possibility that I, like her, have adult ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). You can read about that here: ADD and Me? We'll Manage! Sometimes the key to making your day run smoother is to eliminate the many little hassles that add up to big frustration. One of those things in my house is keeping my two little girls' hair combed! Five year old Melody had really long hair which was so hard to detangle, even with the spray liquid, that some days I didn't bother at all. Yep, negligent mommy! Yep, guilt feelings, especially when I had to tote this scraggly orphan child off to the grocery store to pick up an emergency supply of whatever we just ran out of! But, I would say in my defense, I don't like to hear her cry. Poor child. So my husband Thad suggested that I cut most of it off -- with a pixie cut! Well, I didn't go quite that far, but let's see what I did do this afternoon.
Melody is happy with her new "do" as you can see! She chortled with glee all the way through, taking several peeks in the mirror to check her progress.
It's already SO much easier to comb! Happy mommy!
I just have to tell a few other cute Melody stories while I'm writing this blog post.
A few months ago she was in a really grumpy mood. I was in the bathroom when, as kids will do when their mommies are finally in a quiet place for a few moments, Melody started banging loudly on the locked door.
"Can I TELL you something?" she yelled.
"Sure, Honey," I answered as I cracked open the door a bit. "What do you want to say?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" she replied. I giggled at her confusion, which only made matters worse.
"Stop LAUGHING at me! Don't LOOK at me!" she roared. So I dutifully turned the other way. Then she marched over and planted herself directly in front of where I was facing. "Stop LOOKING at me!" Well, what's a mommy supposed to do? I have to confess that I laughed even harder! Then I put her down for a nap. Simple. Practical. Sanity.
Another time, one of her older sisters was trying to break Melody's habit of thumbsucking. She found a little bottle of nasty tasting liquid that you're supposed to brush on the finger tips to deter a child from putting them in his or her mouth. Lydia did this at bed time, telling Melody that is was a special kind of nail polish. Early the next morning -- around 6, I think -- I could hear Melody wailing down the hallway, "I hate nail polish! I HATE nail polish!" Methinks the whole experience left a bad taste in her mouth. But she still sucks her thumbs...
Come, weary moms! Keep it simple! And don't forget to laugh sometimes, even if you have to muffle it!
If you'd like to read other "Melody Moments" posts, click here.
If you want to see our "Home School Rules" that we're trying to work on each day to keep life simple, click here.
Or just poke around on this blog or my other ones listed below. You never know what you might find!
Go in grace!
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com
www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com
www.StartWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com
www.ContinueWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com
www.FinishWellHomeSchool.blogspot.com
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