Weekends: Are they really restful for us moms?! Why do we crave them so bad?

Each week, we eagerly await Friday - Fri-yay! I know I do. But let’s be honest, for us moms, is it really a break? Sure, it shifts us away from the Monday-to-Friday grind of work, school, and other commitments. But it also brings a whole new list of tasks! There’s grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning the house, and shuttling kids to sports practice, among other things. It’s a different kind of busy, but let’s not kind ourselves it’s not a relaxing experience. (Maybe before the kids when we slept in and had brunch with mimosas, hell yes then it was a one heck of a weekend 🤣)

This weekend, my husband headed to the city with a friend who was visiting for the army and Notre Dame game. So it was just me, the kids, and my mother-in-law at home. This was the first time I faced this challenge without my husband by my side since my health battle started and let me tell you, it really tested my patience, my anger management skills, and my ability to process daily like skills while holding everything together. I might have even questioned my personal survival skills a time or two, but hey, I survived to tell the tale….. still only Sunday night.

A weekend long, my teenage daughter challenged every single damn thing that I said, or did. I swear I tried to bite my tongue, but how in the world do these children expect to get everything, sleepovers, uber eats, shopping etc., but then treat you like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of their shoe. I get it being a teenager is rough and there’s a lot going on at school socially for mine right now, but I’m the one trying to help, so why do I get all the shit all the time any other mom’s out there with the same insane dynamic with their teenage daughter? Anyway, after spending time with her friends, she decided to totally renovate her room and move furniture all over the place, but kept her ass busy the rest the weekend so I guess I’m thankful for the sudden inspiration to clean her dang room.

My son has become quite the little shadow lately, probably because of his age and personality. This weekend, it felt like every second word he uttered was some variation of "mom." It was "mom," "mommy," and then, of course, sprinkled with "I love you." How can I possibly be annoyed with that? I was trying to catch a breather over the weekend, but in between my attempts at relaxation, I found myself keeping busy with him and tackling chores around the house. We whipped up some pancakes, got creative making tree ornaments, and plastered window clings for both Hanukkah and Christmas. There were slumber parties in my room, and we even squeezed in a few movie marathons.

Balancing my energy feels like walking a tightrope. One trip to Walmart for cleaning supplies wiped me out for the whole day—frustrating! I used to do way more than this. But here I am, so I guess I have to accept it and keep moving ahead since there’s no other choice. I managed to do some laundry, stock the fridge, clean it, tidy up the house, and prep my veggies, chicken, couscous, and pasta salad for the week. But tonight, I clearly pushed it too far. I started sweating like a grandparent at the gym, my heart racing like it was training for a marathon at 145 beats per minute! I figured it was time to take my meds and chill for the evening. I got a lot done, which is great, but it’s also a bummer that I couldn't even climb the stairs to tuck my four-year-old in. I had to give him a kiss and send him on his way. Thank goodness my mother-in-law is around to step in and make sure he gets tucked in with a story on his Tonie speaker! I just don’t want to be the lazy ass, anti social, bitchy ass mom. I want to be the “cool mom” like Regina George mom from a mean Girls……that my friends is #goals, at least my current goal😝.

The idea of the weekend had me feeling more anxious than anyone could understand. There were definitely moments where I thought, “Oh no, I feel terrible!” and “What on earth am I doing?!” At one point, I found myself grumbling, “They said have kids it will be fun… what a freaking lie!” You know you're in deep when you start talking to yourself. I got through it, though. I discovered that I can take charge, but it’s a bit scary doing it in a new way while also dealing with my current health struggles. These struggles make me livid, but I realized that being mad won’t help. This weekend made me discover that I need to work with what I have and learn to be okay with myself in my current state. I don’t have that genie to grant me 3 wishes, so it's all on me!

We survived! My husband enjoyed a few days of peace without me whinning to him, and I managed to keep the kids alive, fed, and entertained, thanks to some help from my mother-in-law. The circus of our lives keeps rolling. We all did get to enjoy seeing our son online for Zara…..my red head model!