It totally amazes me that moms just keep going! No matter what, we keep going. I am not saying that dads don't because that is the furthest thing from the truth. I am going to focus on moms today. I am intrigued and quite frankly so impressed by so many of my friends that are going through some really rough times and find ways to make it through the toughest moments. From multiple deaths of family members due to covid, the political stresses, the constant changes with the schools, distant learning when we never ever had plans to do so, juggling money to make ends meet, adjustments to wearing masks to go anywhere to be safe to a range of other things we go through in life.
But guess what? We keep going. I remember when my mom passed away I was devastated and more heartbroken than I ever thought I could be. She was my best friend. I could tell her anything and she always made things better. I never thought that my life could go on without here. One day in the midst of dreariness and heartbreak it clicked with me. What was I doing and why hadn't it occured to me? She would have NEVER wanted me to stop living my life, to be unhappy, stay in bed, not enjoy the moments around me. She would want me to shine bright in this world like she did and taught us by example to do the same. She was a ray of sunshine and believe me every day of my life whether it is a dreary or cloudy day, she is my sunshine. I feel blessed to have her sunshine in my life even on the cloudiest of days. We keep going for each other and while it is difficult to do we just do. We have to.
When life is good, we keep going.
When life throws stones in our path, we keep going.
When it rains on a day that we have an outdoor party planned, we keep going.
When our dinner burns, we keep going.
When our kids have multiple zooms at the same time, we keep going.
When we have had enough that a good cry in the bathroom alone is what we do, we keep going.
When a good friend moves away, we keep going.
When our child goes away to college, we keep going.
When we lose our job due to the failing economy, we keep going.
When we stay up all night with a sick kid, we keep going.
When someone drops by with a special surprise, we keep going.
When our child is being potty trained and has continued accidents, we keep going.
When we have a disaster that occurs in our house, we keep going.
When we decide to stay off of Facebook because of all the recent drama posts, we keep going.
When we make a conscious decision to "be in the moment", we keep going.
When a family member passes away, we keep going.
The list goes on and on. We keep going because we have to. We keep going because we have eyes upon us and we have to set a good example and to let them know that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. That we are not alone and everyone deals with adversity. Is it easy? Heck no! But we have a support system that makes life easier.
How do we keep going? We find a way. We change our plans, we meditate, we go for a walk, we call our mom or sister, we exercise, we make due with what we have, we pray, we vent to our friends, we pour a cup of coffee and sit down and journal, we realize how good we really do have it, we celebrate our families, we do what it takes to get through the tough times and celebrate the good times.
So, the next time something goes right or not so right in our lives really dig deep and tell yourself you can do this. Because you can, I have faith in each and everyone of us. It is ok to take a break and take care of yourself but soon you will be ready to keep on going. That's the best we can do.
