On the bright side

Being a mom is exhausting, overwhelming, exhausting, and lots of hard work. And at times exhausting (just in case I didn't mention that). As I sit here, I feel slightly like I'm living in a war zone. The Mommy War Zone.

You see, not only so we have the normal "Four Kids Live in This House" Mess, we also have the "I'm homeschooling all day" Mess, the "We just got home after being away for a week" Mess and my new favorite, "We're getting the house ready to put on the market" Mess. Lots of mess around here.

It would be very easy for me to look around, burst into tears, and retreat to my room for a nap. But instead, I'm choosing to look on the bright side.

As I look around, I see:

• Flash cards. Frustrating because the kids have once again forgotten to clean up well and now the set is missing a card. But on the bright side, I did school with the three big kids!
• Sticky on the table. On the bright side, I fed my kids two meals today!
• A bucket of laundry: Bummer that it's not folded. But on the bright side, we have clean laundry!
• My coffee mug. A sign that I didn't get all the dishes done. On the bright side, I did enjoy a cup and a half of warm coffee this morning.
• A dirty baby bib. Which means I have a baby who is growing, eating well, and is healthy.
• The vacuum. Yay! I don't have to pick up all the little cracker crumbs and pieces of dirt! I can just suck them up.
• My jam packed planner. We are blessed with the ability to have our children participate in so many enriching activities. We are also blessed with many friends to share our time with.
• Toys and Books. Not only are our needs provided for, but so are our desires. My children lack nothing! And not only that, we are blessed above and beyond our needs.

So rather than retreating, I'm going to look on the bright side, choosing to see God's goodness and blessings in my life.

And yes, you can just call my Pollyanna!