Monday, July 15, 2013

Seasons in a Mom's Life

Are there times in your life as a Mom that you said No to something for a season? Maybe you gave up extra activities at work or church when you had babies, etc.  If you did say No for a season, did anyone give you a hard time for saying No?

4 comments:

Amanda said...

I'm always feeling pressure from others to say yes. At work there is the "well but what about YOU" manipulation and outside of work it's the "well but what about YOU" sympathy. Sure sometimes I feel lonely and want more freedom. But my son is three, we can't just go anywhere with him and I really want him to have a good understanding and appreciation for some good old-fashioned stay-at-home boredom. So we stay in 99% of our nights. It's fun and we love our haven.
I know that when my son is older I will be able to volunteer again or take on more classes at school. But if I never get back to school or miss a certain 'career' adventure, I'll know I did the right thing. I put the best part of ME first. That is my family.

Anonymous said...

I went back to school last year in order to complete a PhD. My kids were 4 and 6 at the time. I could not be more convinced that this is the direction God had me taking. I've had to give up volunteering in certain areas at church and within my kids' school. In some ways though I've been given more flexibility with kids' activities than when I was working.

Anonymous said...

Kim, I read your new newsletter today about being and "old mom" and how quickly our children leave. I'm an "old" and a "new" mom. My oldest is also 19 and went to MS (3,000 miles away) to college this year. Our youngest just turned 5 and is starting kindergarten. We have 2 in between those ages. So, I feel I have a different perspective with our youngest - I do know FOR A FACT that they will leave us. I don't know why that came as such a surprise, as I "knew" it all along - but I didn't really KNOW it until now. It helps me tolerate those annoyances and appreciate when my 5 year wants to be by my side at all hours. It helps me see how my 14 year old will not be the same in 2 years or 1 year. He's not grown up yet. He likes hanging around me and talking to me right now. I'm going to grab onto that. My 10 year old is still so innocent and I tuck him in every night. We share our prayer requests with each other every single night. I'm not going to skip out on that. With my oldest, I'd put things on hold "until things would settle down". I was so busy with the younger ones demands that it was easier to put the oldest one off. I thought she'd always be the way she was. Now she's all grown up and I must say she is a wonderful, devoted daughter (even at 3,000 miles away). I'm grateful that she seems unharmed by the business of our large family. It's God's grace and favor is what it is. Anyway, I just wanted to post after reading your article today. I feel I'm in both camps right now and I appreciate them both. cheryl

Coach Kimberly said...

I appreciate all your comments. I love being able to learn from one another. We all need to realize that God has us in a role right now for this specific time period and we are called to be faithful right now, not in the future.