I woke up to the gentle sounds of rain this morning. Groggily, I turned to my alarm clock – 4:30 a.m. “Thank God it’s raining,” I muttered quietly and rolled back to sleep – grateful for a break from my usual 4-mile run, but knowing I’d feel guilty about missing it later.
And so my workweek begins, albeit slowly.
I like Mondays. I especially like rainy ones. I call Monday my “reset day” – the day when I can start fresh with a whole seven days to accomplish everything on my to-do list. If I missed something last week, Monday offers me the freedom to believe, “I can try again this week.”
But not everyone wakes up to Mondays with the same appreciation as I do. In fact, Mondays can be dreary for many working moms, even if the weather isn’t grey and rainy. Mondays remind them of the endless responsibilities that await. The anticipation of a stressful workweek ahead hangs over them. Working moms are tired and the agony of repeating last week’s cycle of busyness…again…is just about unbearable.
Regardless of your Monday morning disposition, there is one thing that encourages every working mom to press on: affirmation, or confirmation of a job well done.
There are no real rules in working motherhood. Often, we make up the plays as we go along, hoping that we’re getting it right. It’s only through affirmation that we know that we’re on the right track. Affirmation can take many forms:
- Words: For example, “You’re a great mom.”
- Actions: For example, a daughter who wakes on her own and prepares her own bowl of cereal, completely unassisted.
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But, if you’re too busy, too distracted, or too stressed, you might not notice the affirmation that surrounds you all day long. Instead, you’ll notice what you don’t have and focus on everything that you’re missing: time, peace, enjoyment, etc.
So today, my encouragement for you is to take a moment to slow down, open your eyes and notice how the words and actions surrounding you are affirming everything you do (like the 4-year-old who whines, “Mo-m-m-m-m-m-y!” and longs for a hug, affirming you as an important person in his life). Then, take it one step further and affirm someone else today. Imagine being the sunshine in someone’s dreary Monday that affirms in them, “Well done.”