The truth is I don't do it all

A mom sat down next to me at our kids swim practice today with her arms overflowing with bags. I made a witty comment about her looking like she was going on vacation. She gave a heavy sigh, let her shoulders droop, and said, "I don't know how you do it!"

I almost laughed out loud right in her face! 

Once I had gathered my composure, I smiled really big and said, "I don't. I don't have a clean house, I don't finish my errands, I don't cook many meals and I go berserk regularly. I finish every day feeling 10 steps behind."

The look on her face was priceless. I don't know if it was my honesty or if she was incredulous, but whatever caused her expression compelled me to continue. I harangued her with tales of my past month of mishaps with sickness, missed practices, unfinished schoolwork and a floor that had only been cleaned by the dog licking it for the past two weeks. I then went in to detail about the last 3 days where I had essentially turned my house into a prison in order to make my kids get their schoolwork done. They did more work in those 3 days than in the past 3 weeks! I shared the tales of visiting family woes from the recent holiday and I finished by explaining that tonite I would be driving through Taco Bell and using coupons to purchase dinner. I overwhelmed her with details and ensured that she would never accept an invitation for her son to hang out at my house for fear of his safety and well being. 

I may have gone a bit overboard.

At this point I was receiving a blank stare. I nudged her on the shoulder with my shoulder and said, "The truth is I don't do it all. I bet my story makes you feel better though, right?" She visibly relaxed and started laughing and nodding her head. We then spent the next while discussing the probable "secret lives" of the people who appeared to have it all together. We're assuming there's a mix of hired help, medication and insanity.

So to those of you out there wondering how you'll get it all done or berating yourself for an unfinished to do list, I encourage you to stop. Take a moment and appreciate what you did accomplish today. If you're still feeling bad, give me a call, I'm sure I can spin you a worse tale and make you feel better about your day.

P.s. Please know that whenever I berate myself it is purely to make you all feel better about your lives and would not be happening unless I had come to terms with myself and was already able to laugh at the situation. I received several comments of concern regarding my last post and I am not looking for praise (not that it's not welcome...) or for help. I'm mostly hoping my sharing will help and/or entertain all of you.

In case you doubt me, here's a classic picture of a mess that can be found around my house. This is what I found under Tobens bed a few months ago when I helped him change his sheets. My response was to make him clean it out and then take away the bed :/