and i get it. like anything in our lives, we're berated with constant achievements of others - photos of beautifully clean houses, happy children, expensive family vacations, promotions at work, beautiful new clothes…so many things that you can pick apart and feel like your life is lacking all those things therefore isn't enough. but are those other women beating you at life? are you losing because they seem to be winning?
nope, not at all. we need to remind ourselves that we're all playing vastly different games here.
i think we all have the same goal - to raise happy kids, right? but we're all getting there in different ways. and they all involve being a happy mama, right? maybe buying shoes keeps you happy or crafting the perfect handmade christmas decorations. maybe it's working and getting that promotion. whatever it is, keep doing it. for me, running is it. and i trained for over 6 months to force my legs to keep moving for 4.5 hours. those legs carried me 26.2 miles. i think they earned themselves a damn little 26.2 sticker if that's what they wanted.
so many people spend their time tearing down other's accomplishments instead of celebrating them. and i get it, it's human to have feelings and we can't always control what might bring out that competitive beast that seems to live within all of us. it's a constant battle of comparisons. if not of our own goals and accomplishments, then those of our children.
it took me a long time to not see posts from other mamas - look! my son just built this entire lego castle himself! or he completed this entire 500 piece puzzle! all alone! no help! he's a genius! he writes his name perfectly already!
it was hard for me to not wonder why my kid wasn't doing those same things. and sadly, it took me a bit of time to realize he's doing different amazing things right now. he's good at so much. he's not in a competition with those children. he's playing his own game. he's having fun. he's learning every single day. and my one job is to celebrate him, raise him up, and keep cheering him on in whatever goal he makes - big or little.
so running that marathon? that was my big goal for now. i did it for me. to prove to myself that i could do it. and i did.
