By Vanessa Heron of Like Mother Like Daughter
The sun peeks into my room from behind my curtains and tells the tale of morning’s arrival. I listen for my children but am met with the relief of silence. I take a deep breath, stretch my arms to the sky, and silently think to myself, “It’s going to be a perfect day.”
This is the first beautiful lie I tell myself.
As the day wears on, I continue to repeat beautiful lies to myself.
“Today things are going to run smoothly.” A beautiful lie followed by tears over spilled milk and wrestling with diapers. A lie followed by coloring on the furniture, messes on fresh clothes, and jam in clean hair.
“Today I am going to be Supermom.” A beautiful lie followed by forgotten play dates, mismatched socks, and sips of cold coffee. A lie followed by running late and running on empty.
“Today is going to be productive.” A beautiful lie followed by forgotten laundry, piles of dirty dishes, and molding food in the fridge. A lie followed by sticky floors, unmade beds, and filmy bathrooms.
“Today is going to be calm and quiet.” A beautiful lie followed by temper tantrums and time-outs. A lie followed by rambunctious play, flying objects, unexpected guests, and general chaos.
“Today we are going to get some sleep.” A beautiful lie followed by nightmares, fevers, and extra kids in bed. A lie followed by late night feedings, multiple drink requests, and “just one more story.”
My days are filled with beautiful lies that I repeat to myself over and over again.
I tell myself these beautiful lies in an attempt to remain positive in the midst of chaos. I tell myself these beautiful lies as a survival tactic to get through the day. But most of all, I tell myself these beautiful lies because of the glimmers of truth that exist in each beautiful lie.
There are moments in the day that run smoothly. When we are able to sit together as a family for a meal. When the kids have a bath and get to bed on time.
There are moments in the day when I feel like Supermom. When I prepare a meal that is not from a box. When I am able to shower and enjoy a hot-ish cup of coffee.
There are moments in the day that are productive. When the baby rolls over for the first time. When the toddler learns a new word.
There are moments in the day that are calm and quiet. When the baby falls asleep in my arms. When the little one crawls onto my lap and snuggles in.
There are moments in the day when we get some sleep. When we fall asleep during the kids’ TV shows. When the kids nap for a few glorious minutes at the same time.
I will continue repeating these beautiful lies to myself every day. They get me from one day to the next. They fuel me when the days are long and when parenting gets hard. But mostly they remind me of those little moments, when the glimmers of truth shine bright.
“Today is going to be a great day.”
This post was originally published on Like Mother Like Daughter.
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About the Author
Vanessa is a wife and mother to two littles. She is a school counsellor by day, a blogger at Like Mother Like Daughter by night, and she occasionally dabbles in freelance during nap time. Vanessa has unhealthy addictions to caffeine, television, social media creeping, and all things pop culture.