Lagoon Day

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed and a little burned out. I do ok for the first half of the semester, and then it starts getting to me. God made it so that man and woman would be together, that together they would raise children, support each other, work together, lots of togetherness. Unfortunately, that's not the way it always works out. For most of my life my own mother was a single parent and I know it was tough on her. I know other single parents and see how hard they work for their families, I really admire their hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. I know I am blessed to have a supportive husband, but during the school semesters I do feel kind of like a single parent. Most days he is gone from early in the morning until late at night, hours after the kids are asleep in bed. I often feel like I have to do everything alone, and it is tough. I cannot even imagine being a single mom.
So about mid-term John starts feeling overwhelmed with school work and I start feeling overwhelmed with mom work. I always feel guilty when I want a break. Part of me feels like a good mom doesn't need a break. Maybe part of me thinks that a good mom must be perfect. :) OK, but I really did need a break and my really good friend Jennifer had a way. She and her family were going to spend the day at Lagoon and they had an extra ticket. If I could find a babysitter for the boys then I could go with them. So grandam watched the boys for most of the day, then daddy watched them in the evening and I got to go have fun, relax, and most important spend the whole day missing my boys and worrying about them.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? Well, my day away sure made me miss the boys and instead of feeling like I wanted a break, I wanted to go back to being a mom and playing with my boys. I ended a super fun day feeling ready to take on motherhood again. It's tough to be a mom, it's a really hard job, but it is important. I am grateful for the opportunity to take a little break and for the day. It does not make me a bad mom to want or need a break. I can be a better mom now because of it.