Backyard Wildlife and Handling Mom Guilt

It's not every day that we wake up to 4 deer in our backyard. They just went through the strip of woods we have, right next to some of the burn piles we've had from cleaning up the brush, and moved on calmly when they were done visiting us. The kids really enjoyed seeing them so close-up.

I remember once when we were growing up, we counted about 40 deer in our front yard. A couple even within a few yards of the house. At that house, it was common to see deer, just not so many at one time.

Just now, Kara saw a pileated woodpecker on the tree by our garage. He flew from there to a tree across the street, then down to the ground, pecking away at the bugs he found there.

I never get tired of seeing the birds and wildlife around here. The stray cats can go away, though.

On to my other thoughts for the day: I totally failed at writing for three days in a row. Resolution: write early in the day, like at 5:00 a.m. as the name of this blog suggests.

Also, I read a blog post from one of my beautiful sisters talking about priorities. She has a newborn who, as all newborns do, eats, poos, and fusses about sleeping all the day long. Plus, he makes the cutest faces and sounds that just melt anyone around him.

I remember those days well with my children. A constant cycle of no sleep for me, not enough sleep for them, feeding, diapering, and feeling like a failure at housekeeping.

One thing that kept my sanity was to narrow my focus down to the two things that clog the works of the house faster than anything else: dirty dishes and dirty laundry.

Without clean clothes, there's nothing to wear; without clean dishes, we can't cook or eat very well.

When I chose not to worry about all the work I couldn't finish, but just made the only house goals for the day to wash dishes and laundry, I was able to function better and stop feeling so guilty.

Even now with a tween and an almost-tween, there are days that I count a win if we've just accomplished those two chores.

Young children simply require a great amount of attention, but those days, long at the time, pass by so quickly.

I know I sound like all the moms who said the same thing to me when I was going through that phase of life. It's true, though.

So, to my sister, I say, you're a good mom! You have the hardest and best job in the world, and you're doing a fabulous job at it. Your efforts will not be wasted.