Crazy on a Sunday

I went crazy yesterday. This is a common occurrence on Sunday. You know the drill. You go out and have fun on Saturday, see a movie, go to the beach, maybe do a little yard work. Family time. Then Sunday rolls around. You go to church, come home, feed everyone....and then pull a little Jekyll and Hyde number. There is school and work the next day and, at my house, this brings on a whole new level of craziness for me. I begin stressing out about the homework, the lunches, the clothes for the next day, the schedule for the week, the tests that will be taken. And I take the Sabbath right out of Sunday for everyone that lives in my household. This is not a pretty version of myself. Why do I do this? Because someone told me that my second graders reading and taking tests on these books in a timely manner was important. But is it? Are they graded on it. No, so the reading should be checked off the list of the things to go crazy about. The schedule for the week will happen with or without me pouring over my calendar for the week so there is no point in going crazy over that. We can start doing homework on Fridays and eliminate that little stress area. The point is we do this to ourselves (and our family) because we seem to think every little thing is important. But is it really?

For years I have felt like it was my duty to deal with and prioritize every little detail of my family's existence. I did it because I felt like if I didn't teach them to do all of these little things and worry over every detail it meant that they aren't disciplined. Maybe I did it because someone (a friend, a teacher, another mother) told me these details were important and I believed them. All I succeeded in doing was causing more chaos in my home every Sunday evening (and probably a few days during the week also) and gotten everyone all worked up in the process. So this week I'm going to try a little something different. I'm going to decide what's important. Homework is important. Getting enough sleep is important. I have a feeling the rest will work itself out if I let it. The kids will miraculously find clean clothes in their drawers. Books will get read but maybe not all in one day. Children will arrive at school and grown ups will make it to work. I'm not advocating procrastination or lack of order. We all know those two are bad for family business. What I'm advocating is not sweating the small stuff. Some of us (me) have a tendency to make everything a big thing. So let's step back and look at our motivations and those of the people around us and decide what is really important and what really isn't. Maybe this Sunday I can be just Mom instead of the much scarier version I see in the mirror.