When Mom Life Doesn’t Go As Planned

I woke up last Friday morning in a funk. I made it through my normal A.M. routine which includes fixing breakfast, unloading the dishwasher, throwing in a load of laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, and vacuuming the main level. Soon it was time for the girls to take their morning naps. Normally that’s when Baylen and I do some tot school, but instead we snuggled up, watched VeggieTales, and I took a little power nap.

When I woke up, I was determined to turn the day around. It was the first hot day that it actually felt like summer and I wanted to take advantage of it and do something extra fun with my three little loves. After Emersyn and Mckinley woke up I dressed everyone in their swimsuits and loaded up the car with beach toys, towels, a cooler full of food, and the other thousand things necessary to go anywhere with three toddlers. I typed in the directions for a beach I Googled earlier and we were off.

The beach was at a state park only about 10 minutes from our house. I pulled up to the ranger’s station, bought my parking pass, and asked for directions to the beach. The worker told me where to go, and that I’d have to walk about a half mile to get there from the parking lot. No big deal, I thought. We walk about that distance to the park almost every day.

We drove to the visitor’s parking lot, I got out the triple stroller and loaded it up with all the food and beach gear. Then I added the most precious cargo, and we started our walk to the water. It only took me a few minutes to realize that this walk was not going to be any type of stroll. We started going downhill fast, and I was pulling back on the stroller with all that I had as we skidded down the hill. Phew, we made it to a landing, but then another steep downhill. At this point I was tempted to go back, but I figured we had to be about there. We’d made it this far, we could make it the rest of the way. I’d get to take a break at the beach, and then I could push hard to make it back up these crazy hills.

After SEVERAL more downhills, we arrived at a grassy area. At last, I saw the sign for the beach. We headed over there, only to see a teeny tiny beach that was almost completely flooded. No other swimmers were in sight, and this was clearly no place to take little ones. At this point, I started freaking out thinking about the MONSTER hills I’d have to endure on the way back.

This place was for hard core hikers. The only other people we saw were wearing hiking boots and large backpacks, and had probably made their own breakfast over the fire that morning. It certainly wasn’t a place for a mom wearing flip flops to go on a leisurely walk pushing a loaded triple stroller while being 25 weeks pregnant!

If ever there was a time to go into preterm labor, it would have been then. I was praying so hard that we’d survive this predicament I had somehow gotten us into. After lots of huffing and puffing, mosquito bites, water breaks, and God giving me supernatural peace so the kids didn’t sense I was scared, somehow, someway, we made it back to civilization.

After buckling everyone in and packing the stroller away, we left the park and headed home, just in time to eat lunch and get the kids down for their naps.

I was bummed, frustrated, and even shed a few tears. In the grand scheme of things this little adventure obviously wasn’t a big deal and I can laugh about it now, but sometimes when we’re in the thick of motherhood, small setbacks can feel like big defeats.

When we’re at full capacity during the normal day to day, doing anything extra feels like a big endeavor, even if it’s a trip to the beach or taking the kids shopping. What might seem trivial can feel like a huge deal when we know the extra work it takes to do anything that’s out of the normal routine.  When these extra efforts result in fun-filled moments with our kids it’s so rewarding! But when things don’t go as planned it’s easy to get discouraged and wonder if any of our extra work was even worth it.

To my mommy friends out there who have experienced similar disappointments, no matter how big or small, I want to affirm you in your efforts. Maybe you planned a picnic lunch that you had to cut short because your oldest had a potty accident, or maybe it went better than you could have ever imagined. Maybe you went to the grocery store and it ended with everyone screaming, or maybe you had perfect angels and even had time to grab Starbucks afterwards. Maybe getting through breakfast this morning felt like the biggest uphill battle.

Life with youngsters leaves lots of room for surprises, both good and bad, that are out of our control.

Like any job, we’ll have good days and bad days. My prayer for us is that on the days when things don’t turn out as we saw them play out in our minds, that we wouldn’t feel defeated. Our joy doesn’t have to be dependent upon every day going off without a hitch. God tells us that even during our struggles, we can have joy that surpasses our understanding. This includes the day to day occurances that sometimes feel silly. He wants us to remember that He sees the love we’re pouring out onto our kids, that little things matter, and that JOY is ours to claim no matter our circumstances!

Lord, would you give each of us an extra dose of authentic JOY as we embark on the easy and challenging aspects of motherhood today! 

“A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.” -Proverbs 17:22

XOXO,

Amber

P.S. For more reflections on parenthood and life, follow us on Facebook (Hun Let’s Run) and on Instagram: @ambermariekuiper and @jakekuiper! We’d also love for you to subscribe to our Hun, Let’s Run Podcast! For more info about joining our fitness community as a customer or coach, please email us at amber@mommysmetime.com!