How Perception Can Help You Appreciate the Mundane

Do you ever feel like your life as a mom is a bit like the movie Groundhog Day?

You wake up,

fix breakfast,

get the kids ready for school,

start a load of laundry,

get your toddler a snack (30 minutes after breakfast),

clean up breakfast dishes,

fold laundry,

make lunch,

clean up after lunch,

fix afternoon snack,

start dinner (that only 1/2 your family will likely eat),

clean up after dinner,

another load of laundry,

give the kids a bath,

start the bedtime routine,

try to spend a few quality minutes with your husband,

and then finally lay down for the night,

only to wake up and repeat???

I’m a very routine person. I thrive when I’m on a schedule, and my life feels organized. However, I was feeling very bogged down with the mundane tasks of motherhood a few months ago. I decided I had a choice as to how I was viewing this life I felt “stuck” in.

I started by focusing on appreciating the day-to-day tasks of motherhood and my attitude completely changed!

Here’s how my new perception helped to free me from this feeling of being “trapped” in the day-to-day tasks . . . .

When I wake up, I begin the day thankful that I am healthy and that I was able to have a warm bed and home to sleep in.

When I fix meals and snacks for my family, I’m grateful that we have enough food in our home to not be hungry.

When I get my kids ready for school, which in my case is homeschooling, I’m thankful for the many resources available that allow me to homeschool my girls and the ability I have to watch them grow and learn daily. I’m also thankful for other homeschooling mamas that I know (in person and virtually) who encourage and support me when I need it.

While doing laundry, I’m appreciative that I have the convenience of a washer and dryer in my home. And I’m also thankful for the three children whom I prayed for and the abundance of laundry that came along with them.

When I help my girls with their baths at night, I’m thankful for the time to talk with them and hear about the day from their perspective (which is often different from my adult perception of the day).

The girls’ bedtime routine has become something I especially cherish because I know the day is soon approaching when they will no longer want to climb into my lap or sit beside me to hear a bedtime story or just sit and snuggle with me. I want to make these small moments count. 

Spending a few quality minutes with my husband at night is also a priority and a time that I am reminded how grateful I am to have a husband who not only provides for our family but who shares all the tasks and responsibilities that come with raising three daughters.

Let this encourage you, if you feel stuck or overwhelmed by the “mundane and repetitive” tasks of motherhood, to slow down and think of ways you can appreciate these responsibilities that we have been given.