I feel overwhelmed.

in control, not overpowered.

They say that moms are the glue that holds a family together.

I don't think these people (whoever "they" are) realize just how irritatingly accurate that metaphor is.  Like glue, moms are ridiculously strong and can carry far more than our own weight.  We are both what makes things function in the first place and the first thing anyone turns to the second something breaks.  Unfortunately, we are also only ever really noticed if we somehow don't do what's expected of us.  If we do our job properly, no one really notices.  If we're extra good at it we're not even visible.

So yeah, moms are glue.  It makes a pithy mother's day card, but it doesn't really help us all that much.

Being Glue is Exhausting

The glory of being "the glue of the family" doesn't help when we've gotten everyone up, gotten everyone dressed, made all the lunches, driven everyone everywhere, folded all the laundry, cleaned up the house, maybe even snuck in a bit of work....we're ready to go to bed...and when we look at the clock it's 7:59am.

Being the glue doesn't help when we spend an hour cooking a dinner that everyone has finished eating before you even finish dishing up your own plate.  (Yay solo dinner and then dishes!)  It doesn't help when you have a to do list the size of your arm and you have to get it done whether you're sick/tired/depressed/exhausted/busy or not because people need clean clothes, packed lunch boxes, and checked homework.

Sometimes, being the glue sucks.

Am I Ever Not Going to Feel Overwhelmed?

Yes.  The short answer is yes.

You will someday wake up and just get to focus on yourself.  You will be able to occasionally say 'no' to dealing with someone else's crisis if you're not feeling up to it.  You will feel powerful, capable, and in control of your own life.

Yes, this day can even occur when you have kids living under your roof.  (How depressing would it be if I just said "that's what old age is all about" and skipped off whistling evilly?) 

You can feel in control as a mom.  You just need a little help. 

That's where we come in.

How to Get Your Control Back

To get control of your life as a mom, you need two things: strategy and support.

You need the strategy to structure your days so the important stuff gets done first and you can shrug off the rest guilt-free.  You need strategy to figure out how to put your to do list puzzle pieces in order in a way that makes sense.

You also need the support to know someone has your back...that you're not the only one that feels this way, that you are doing a Herculean level of work (for no pay and very little thanks), and that it's 100% FREAKING NORMAL to be stressed out by it.

Because you are.  You're doing a hard thing well.