Making It Look Easy

That’s what someone said about me.  This morning.
There I was, standing with my 3 year old outside the preschool door waiting for school to open.  With my coffee mug in my hand.  Not the travel mug that I should have brought in the car with me but the real mug that I ran out of the kitchen with as I shuffled my kids out the door because we were going to be late for Kindergarten drop off.  I should mention that we were running out the door because we had already missed the bus.
Never the less, there I stood, waiting and another mom said to me “Wow, you make it look so easy, with your coffee cup and everything”.

And I was reminded of how perceptions can be so deceiving.  To me, my morning was anything but easy.  Running late, packing snacks, trying to get my kids to eat breakfast.  On my drive to do the errands (of course there were errands) I couldn’t stop thinking about what had changed in my demeanor that would demonstrate to others that this all is easy.  And all I could come up with was how my priorities have changed and my life simplified over the last few months.  I felt proud of myself.  Because in the craziness of that morning, I was still able to talk about the leaves falling with my 3 year old.  I watched my 5 year old as she walked herself into school, finally confident enough to take care of herself.  And a lot of those changes have to do with my decision to focus on them, on being present, on making parenting them thoughtfully a priority.

This morning couldn’t have happened if I was tied up on my smartphone.  It couldn’t have happened if I had prioritized my kids looking perfect, and sacrificed them working independently to get dressed and ready.

I’m so glad it did happen, because it is little victories like this day that make me feel like I’m doing something right.

Have you changed your priorities?  How has it made a difference in your days?

Health and Happiness,

Cerissa