I was speaking with a friend a few months back who told me she was looking for a motto, a phrase, a whatever to tell herself in the morning to set the tone for the day.
She was looking for something motivating, uplifting, and relatable. Since this conversation, I have thought back to it many times and have found not only do I do this, clearly subconsciously, but that it truly has made a difference in my thinking and acting.
Around the time that my son was born, I first heard the phrase, “The nights are long, but the years short.” I didn’t give it much thought until the first year of his life had passed by in what seemed like no more than a month. I have since taken this phrase to heart, and remind myself of this idea almost daily.
In addition to this mom motto, I have added a few other phrases that have helped build my confidence and bring reassurance in particularly tough times:
1. Let Them Be Little
I have written previously on this topic! It is so, so important to me that I make attempts to remind myself that my children are children for such a small snapshot in their lives. I have to cherish the crazy, loud, chaos. One day, as cliché as it sounds, there will no longer be loud little kid voices or Legos and hot wheels littering the ground. Gone will be the sounds of singing toys on repeat or dirt and grass in the mudroom all.the.time. I must hold these moments tight because one day they will only be memories.
2. The Nights Are Long, but the Years Short
I find this motto relates much more to my children when they are infants. When I am rocking a gassy, inconsolable 4-month-old at 3 am, I tell myself this will pass. One night they will no longer need me; they probably won’t even want me in the middle of the night. As a mother of two toddlers, I already find myself longing to cuddle my babies one more time, one more night-time routine, one more middle of the night cuddle.
3. You Can’t Control the World Around You, but You Can Control Your Response
This motto above all others I have found to ring true throughout all aspects of life. I can’t control how others feel about me or what others may say. I can’t control the weather, my family, how long it may take to wait in the return line at Target, my children’s attitudes or traffic. But, I can control my response, my feelings, my attitude. I can choose to be frustrated, angry or annoyed. Or I can choose to accept the unfortunate, swallow it like an adult and move on about my day.
I acknowledge that all this self-talk sounds a bit lame, but here’s the raw truth: things get messy, crazy, and sometimes life leads us down a path we didn’t intend to follow. Our kids and – let’s be honest – each of us need time to reset and refresh. If I can squeeze just a few minutes of time into my day to remind myself of the precious chapter our family is in and tell myself one of my mom mottos, I can more efficiently clean up the messes and calm and the crazy.
Do these phrases keep me from the occasional lose of my sanity or from getting frustrated? No. But they absolutely, 100% help me to gain insight so that I can respond and act reasonably when the world around me is not. I believe there is power in positive self-talk and reassurance.
You can do it, mama! I challenge you to find a phrase or borrow one of mine. Say it to yourself in tough times or in the calm after a storm {like nap or bedtime!}. Give it some time, try it out for a week or two and see if it makes a difference.
My hope is that you can find your own mom motto because even the slightest bit of help getting us through this challenging time in life is worth it!
