I Didn't Plan To Be A Witch
I recently just finished a book I started on my trip to Virginia called I Didn't Plan To Be A Witch by Linda Eyre. It hit the Mommy spot. She's very good at being real.
Every time I read this passage I can't help laughing because it hits so close to home:
"I have known and admired a certain friend for years, but just the other day I heard a story about her that made me like her even more. Apparently, when she was a young mother with several children close together and came to her wit's end, she would retire to a closet and scream. She screamed and screamed and maybe even beat on the wall a little until it was all out of her system and then would come out, ready to try again.
One day her husband came home while she was 'screaming in the closet' and panicked when he heard the commotion. Darting about the house frantically to find the source, he found his oldest daughter and blurted urgently, 'What's wrong. What's happened?'
'Oh, it's okay, Dad,' the daughter reported calmly with a wave of her arm. It's just Mom screaming in the closet. She does it all the time.'"
That is me!!! I am in that very difficult phase of motherhood with several young children and I can't even count how many times I have come into my room, slammed the door, and screamed into my pillow for several minutes. It's often accompanied by punching my pillows as hard as I possibly can and occasionally chucking them across the room. You didn't know that about me now did you? You are probably either extremely humored or very worried as you try to picture the scene.
I can just imagine Jayce coming home one day right at that moment and having Cameron say, "It's just Mom beating up her pillows again. She does it all the time." Oh dear.
Other highlights:
"Although I guess some mothers have survived mothering without outside help, I could certainly never survive without help from Heaven!
I attribute two things to any success I may have had as a mother and certainly to my sanity. The first is prayer. The most common admonition in the scriptures--to ask--is the one that is most easy to forget in our struggle to survive with our children until we are desperate or near tragedy.
Ask for the ability to see your children's little needs before they become big problems. Ask for specific insight on each child's concerns. Ask for ways to guide them in the paths of truth and righteousness. Ask for methods to help your children fulfill their destiny and He will show the way, but usually not without some pain and sorrow along with the joy and happiness.
Motherhood is truly a sacred calling, a magnificent refiner, a partnership with God. It has been said that mothering never ends, it just gets bigger. Through it all we learn to work with our witch-hood, accept our weaknesses, and sometimes make them our strengths."
Mmm..isn't that the truth?
I love how she closed the book too:
"Like any career, mothering cannot be taken lightly. Being a good mother takes dedication and determination, patience and persistence, talent and tenacity, madness and mental energy, a sense of humor and sensitivity and lots of overtime.
The impact of our career is staggering. Good mothering can change the world at a grassroots level. Take the time necessary to think about it and plan it! Instead of filling the business of raising children with busyness, it makes sense to turn an old cliche around and 'Don't just do something...sit there!'"
I highly recommend it and it's a pretty short book, so it can be as quick or drawn out as you need. I got it for free here: https://powerofmoms.com/register/
And I'm sure it's also available for free here because all of the Eyre books are now free on their website:
http://valuesparenting.com/free-books/
Every time I read this passage I can't help laughing because it hits so close to home:
"I have known and admired a certain friend for years, but just the other day I heard a story about her that made me like her even more. Apparently, when she was a young mother with several children close together and came to her wit's end, she would retire to a closet and scream. She screamed and screamed and maybe even beat on the wall a little until it was all out of her system and then would come out, ready to try again.
One day her husband came home while she was 'screaming in the closet' and panicked when he heard the commotion. Darting about the house frantically to find the source, he found his oldest daughter and blurted urgently, 'What's wrong. What's happened?'
'Oh, it's okay, Dad,' the daughter reported calmly with a wave of her arm. It's just Mom screaming in the closet. She does it all the time.'"
That is me!!! I am in that very difficult phase of motherhood with several young children and I can't even count how many times I have come into my room, slammed the door, and screamed into my pillow for several minutes. It's often accompanied by punching my pillows as hard as I possibly can and occasionally chucking them across the room. You didn't know that about me now did you? You are probably either extremely humored or very worried as you try to picture the scene.
I can just imagine Jayce coming home one day right at that moment and having Cameron say, "It's just Mom beating up her pillows again. She does it all the time." Oh dear.
Other highlights:
"Although I guess some mothers have survived mothering without outside help, I could certainly never survive without help from Heaven!
I attribute two things to any success I may have had as a mother and certainly to my sanity. The first is prayer. The most common admonition in the scriptures--to ask--is the one that is most easy to forget in our struggle to survive with our children until we are desperate or near tragedy.
Ask for the ability to see your children's little needs before they become big problems. Ask for specific insight on each child's concerns. Ask for ways to guide them in the paths of truth and righteousness. Ask for methods to help your children fulfill their destiny and He will show the way, but usually not without some pain and sorrow along with the joy and happiness.
Motherhood is truly a sacred calling, a magnificent refiner, a partnership with God. It has been said that mothering never ends, it just gets bigger. Through it all we learn to work with our witch-hood, accept our weaknesses, and sometimes make them our strengths."
Mmm..isn't that the truth?
I love how she closed the book too:
"Like any career, mothering cannot be taken lightly. Being a good mother takes dedication and determination, patience and persistence, talent and tenacity, madness and mental energy, a sense of humor and sensitivity and lots of overtime.
The impact of our career is staggering. Good mothering can change the world at a grassroots level. Take the time necessary to think about it and plan it! Instead of filling the business of raising children with busyness, it makes sense to turn an old cliche around and 'Don't just do something...sit there!'"
I highly recommend it and it's a pretty short book, so it can be as quick or drawn out as you need. I got it for free here: https://powerofmoms.com/register/
And I'm sure it's also available for free here because all of the Eyre books are now free on their website:
http://valuesparenting.com/free-books/
hahaha! Oh Sarah! I love you EVEN more- is that possible?! screaming and punching into your pillow- um, yes please! Mommy time-outs are a staple! Keep up the great work with those boys though. They will pamper you like their queen when they get older! :) Love ya!
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