About Guest Blogger
Pop in when you have a few spare moments for a cosy chat. Read about real-mom experiences and contribute your own slices of life at our Drop-In Centre.
This is the first of four guest posts by our SweetMama Calgary contributor, Jody Robbins. Check back Wednesdays for more from Jody.
On a good day, I’m fairly chipper. On an average day, I sometimes need to remind myself all I have going for me. You know: healthy family, supportive husband, good friends, fully stocked wine bar. A recent read of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project did help to raise my happiness set point, but it also got me thinking: what were my Secrets of Adulthood? Did I have any nuggets of wisdom specific to raising children that, once crystalized, would make life easier?
After much contemplation, I’ve developed my own Secrets of Mommy-hood. Some are things I wish I’d realized sooner and others have been stewing in mommy-brain for quite sometime. Here’s hoping these help you too!
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
Incentives work in our house, apparently. Why I didn’t tap into this little gem until the preschool years I’ll never know. I blame my hippie friends for holding out on me.
If it is to be, it’s up to me
If I really want something done, I’ve got to take ownership of it and not fob it off on my husband. This is why we’re finally getting new carpet after way too many split bottles — milk, wine... does it really matter which?
Pack a snack
Now that my child is older and I don’t have to lug around the diaper bag, I’ve become so cavalier I usually forget to pack snacks. Naturally, I regret this since I’m always hungry.
If not now, when?
This one has come in particularly handy when deciding when to put the munchkin to bed, the right time to potty train or planning that much needed girls weekend.
Always wear a hat
My daughter and I have skin that polite people describe as alabaster. In reality, we’re pasty-white and turn an unfortunate red with the mildest sun exposure. I’d rather be called a ghost than a sweat-hog.
Stop, drop and roll
When you can’t get anything done: stop, get present (I mean mindful ladies, not deliciously shopaholic) then roll around on the floor with your kids. They’ll love it and it instantly lifts everyone’s mood. Then you can get back to work (otherwise known as Facebook in my house).
If you think you’re being played, you probably are
And the Academy Award goes to....no, not Natalie Portman, but your toddler! Children are brilliant actors. I’m not saying separation anxiety doesn’t exist, I’ve been to that rodeo, but the more guilt we feel about doing what’s right the less we do it.
After all, if mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
What are some of your Secrets of Mommy-hood?
SweetMama Calgary contributor, Jody Robbins, is an almost 40-something mother of one precocious gal. She’s not allowed to smile since recently getting braces, but admits to showing off her grill for Bernard Callebaut and any member of the macaroon family. 