Enjoy It Anyway

I see all these mamas…running around cleaning and baking, cooking and organizing, getting ready for Thanksgiving. And you know what? So many of them are stressed and stretched, twisted tight and wrung out. And so you know what I wanna say to all these mamas?

It’s going to be okay. Enjoy it anyway.

There’s going to be some stuff that just doesn’t get done. And that’s okay. Because I just don’t know a mama who is able to ‘get it ALL done’. It’s going to be okay. Enjoy it anyway.

Contrary to popular belief, there’s no rule that says you have to bake all of your pies. Store bought ones are just fine. Throw some whipped cream on it and all will be fine. It’s going to be okay. Enjoy it anyway.

The kid’s rooms? Still a disaster? Who cares, close the doors. It’s going to be okay. Enjoy it anyway.

No time to wax the floors? By the time everyone is standing on them, no one will notice. And besides, does anyone EVEN wax floors anymore? It’s going to be okay. Enjoy it anyway.

The turkey, it’s drier than you wanted. It’s going to be okay. Enjoy it anyway.

The bathroom, heavens the bathroom, you didn’t have time to get on your hands and knees and scrub behind the toilet? It’s going to be okay, enjoy it anyway.

A sink full of dishes? Who cares. There’ll be time to finish those later. It’s going to be okay. Enjoy it anyway.

Toys strewn about the house? It’s going to be okay, enjoy it anyway.

Windows not washed, baseboards not dusted, cobwebs not removed. It’s going to be okay, enjoy it anyway.

There’s a lot going on in our worlds. We’re busy working inside and outside the home. Our husbands and partners are too. We’re ALL just trying to get it ALL done. Wait, no, not all. Because…the kids? They’re off school and swinging from the chandeliers while whining, “I’m b-o-r-e-d.” There’s much to be done and bought and made. And all for the sake of a ‘perfect’ Thanksgiving. And we get so busy trying to make it perfect, we forget to experience it at all. Every last imperfection of it. Every last blessing of it. Because really, the imperfections are blessings just as much as the good stuff. But we lose sight of that.

So this Holiday season, go easier on yourself. Spend less time on perfection and more time on gratitude.

BUT KNOW THIS…don’t let that also become a stressor. Do you know what I’m talking about? Where we KNOW we are supposed to be enjoying things more. We KNOW, in the words of Queen Elsa, we are just supposed to “Let it Go’. And yet, when we realize we aren’t doing that, we add ‘stress out less’ and ‘be more grateful’ as items on our ‘to do’ list…which is missing the whole freaking point, right? No? Just me?

In any case, mamas. Appreciate yourself and all you do this Holiday season. Loosen those expectations and allow some imperfections. Because family. And friends. And joy. And time together. And good food. And good company. And pie. Oh…the pie.

Because it’s going to be okay.

Enjoy it anyway.