I have a bad case of Mom-xiety and it has facebook written all over it.
The only known cure - turn off facebook.
Moms - take my advice, turn off the news feed.
Just do it. You'll be tempted to read the latest news and the most recent debates, but don't do it.
My parenting anxiety reached an all time high yesterday.
A quick scan of the facebook news feed left me with such anxiety and yet a crack-like addiction to read more. Debates surrounding breastfeeding, cupcakes and vaccinations left me with such guilt.
- I nursed my babies on a flexible-schedule for 15 months each - it was an absolutely beautiful time for us, I loved almost every minute of it - but now I'm told that I did it wrong. Ack ... the guilt.
- I brought bite-sized cupcakes to share at the kids theatre production (yes, bite-size!) - and now I'm told that I'm insensitive to kids with gluten sensitivities. (As a side note, one of Karis's lines is, "Did you say something about a cupcake? Hence, the cupcakes.)
- I vaccinate my kids. I light candles in my house. I use house-hold cleaners (earth friendly, but yes they are cleaners). The list goes on.
Come-on facebook. You and your debates are making me into an anxiety ridden, guilt driven mommy. I can't take it anymore.
And then - my dear husband looked me in the eye and with determination in his voice said, "Don't read it."
Is it really that simple?
"Don't read it."
Yep, it is that simple.
I won't read it.
Facebook - I'm looking for a little bit of encouragement. A little bit of grace. A little bit of joy for the journey. You're not giving it to me.
Friends - if you have a word of encouragement pop me a note. If you want to grab a cup of coffee and relieve some mom-xiety, I'm up for it.
In the words of St. Paul:
Romans 15:5
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.
In the words of High School Musical:
We're all in this together ...
ps I recognize the irony in the fact that I am about to post this link on facebook. I'm not totally shutting down facebook - I'm choosing to not read.
7 comments:
I completely feel your pain! Finding that balance is hard.My way of combating it is to just do what I feel is right and leave the rest up to God. I don't let anyone else's opinions affect what I do any more, it is extremely nerve racking and I can't be constantly anxious about whether or not I am making the right decision, especially since the "right" decision a few years ago has now been researched and found to be "wrong". I do what works for my kids and so far they seem to be doing ok. And I would say the same for yours!
You have an amazing family. You and your children are loving, intelligent, well mannered, and welcoming. You have centered your family around God, and you follow wherever He leads you. These are the important things in life. Don't be tempted to be like another parent or believe that their way is better than yours. You are you, you are an amazing mom who listens for God's voice to guide you. How can any of that be wrong?
Robin, when Karissa was born there was a wave of "how to raise your kids " that went through the churches. I had comments left and right that I really needed to do this course for the sake of my kids but I refused. It didn't sit right with me. I am positive I made the right choice. I chose to homeschool when it wasn't acceptable to most people, I chose not to vaccinate and still get flack for it. I think God just guides your heart and your decisions. Trust Him to help you and keep handing it all to Him. The funny thing about voicing one's opinion online is that one can be much more aggressive and blunt than you would be face to face. So I have to remember that. Have fun with being a Mom! God has blessed you with so many talents and three beautiful kids!
Love you, Wendy.
1) I'm not a mom.
2) I think you're amazing.
3) I really enjoyed those cupcakes.
4) Sometimes mom's have to make difficult choices.
5)Trust yourself.
As mark says , "opinions are like butt holes, lol, everyone has one and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks"
LOL
God has led you to every decision you have made so far as a mother and wife and i admire that,,, lets all stick together as moms and not make comments if we all don't choose the same things... that is my prayer
i would love a coffee , tea, maybe not today but soon,
love you
xoxoxoxo
Trust yourself and trust God. Satan is elusive (The Screwtape Letters).
love
Janey from Lenoir
Hey, we saw a great film on media literacy, "Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the media". (Central library, during media literacy week several years ago). An interesting statistic was that the more media you saw, the more fearful you were, NO MATTER WHAT THE PROGRAM. Even if you watch TVO all day long, you are still exposed to conflict, expectations, consumerism, etc. etc. So we cut down, and especially don't watch news! The big stuff, we hear about anyway. You have a beautiful family of which I am pretty envious ; )
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