When I was in college I was stressed out all the time. I worked as much as possible to pay the bills (and to hopefully have a little spending money), studied all the time like a good little bookworm, and became very good friends with clorox wipes. The clorox was an obsession to attempt to release all my stress and anxiety over being a student.
When I became a mom I was stressed all the time. I say this in past tense, which may be a little ambitious of me. Cleaning, laundry, bottles, tummy time, development, etc - the checklist is too large for one day. I was constantly realizing each day that I hadn't quite met par.
I can not imagine being a mom AND a student. I can not imagine having a husband with cancer. And if you were to ask me what I think of combining the 3 I think it's a recipe for insanity.
Or a recipe for greatness.
I only know one person who has ever successfully juggled a load like that, and today is her birthday!!!
I don't know how she managed to handle all of that. On top of that I don't know how she managed to make me 20 bows to surprise me one day when I came home from school. Or how she knew how to draw the most beautiful map of sweden. Or how she was able to maintain friendships, take care of her mom, and manage our home while doing the rest of it. She is proof that we are all built stronger than we think we are, and if she could handle all of that and more I can certainly handle 9 months of Austin being in afghanistan. She is my benchmark for strength, and she is the best example of how to provide my baby with all the love he needs despite whatever else is thrown on my plate.
My brothers and I tease her a lot for how emotional she is, but honestly if any one else had endured what she did I think they would have cracked much sooner. She was able to wait until we were strong enough to help hold her up.
Happy birthday mom - and even though William was not saying 'yaya' this morning, he wishes you a happy birthday too :)
- manda
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