Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease. ~Lisa Alther

Make a list.

Make a list of everything you did today, in order. Now, did you realize just how much you got done today? How many people you helped? How much multitasking you did? I bet you didn't. It's just what parents do.

As a mother, I never really stop to think about how I get everything done in a day. Most days I manage to pull it off seamlessly, other days...not so much. And then there are days when something far greater than myself comes into play.

Today the kindest woman at the grocery store stopped and asked me how I do it. I looked down at what I had in my hands for a clue as to what she was talking about. I wondered if she meant - How do you make that lasagna?

As if she could read my mind and know what the parsley and ricotta cheese were for. Sure.

She obviously sensed her question had completely confused me and I was clearly in the"Get 'r Done" zone. For those of you not in the know, that's a place in MomVille...most moms know it well.

Anywho... She said that she always sees me out and about doing this and that, stopping in at the library, buying groceries, running and to top it off (I love this part) that I always seem so put together and...happy. Hmmmmm. I looked down at my runners and yoga pants thinking - put together? Maybe it was my JDRF baseball cap that made it work. Not sure about that one. My morning at that poini had gone something like this:

Got up, threw in a load of laundry, poured a cup of coffee and checked/returned messages before the kids got up.
Put another load of laundry through and made lunches while they got dressed and had their breakfast.
I vacuumed the sofas and then folded towels while my husband carted the kids off to three different schools.
I had some vanilla yogurt then threw on my running stuff and headed out to mail some letters and for a 5km run. I took the old television that we had replaced last night from my son's room to the garage on the way out (my husband would drop that off later).
Ran my 5km to the grocery store where I picked up the rest of the fixings for my slow-cooker lasagna. Yum.

It wan't even noon yet. I was feeling productive but nothing extraordinary here. I should have done all this while spinning plates on tall sticks balanced on my nose. That would have been extraordinary.

Threw the lasagna together. Set to cook on low. I then worked until about 5:30. The slow-cooker lasagna meant dinner was taken care of which actually turned out to be a blessing when my diabetic son came home with an ear ache and high blood sugars. Off to the children's after hours clinic with him. Thank goodness for  Canadian Healthcare. And now the kitchen is cleaned up, the dog has been walked, the kids did their homework and are snug in their beds and I am finishing this post sometime around midnight.

The point is, it doesn't matter how we do it. We all do it. And we'll keep doing it.

Most busy moms and dads I know just do what they have to do. For me, it isn't until someone asks me how I do it that I give it any thought. And parents never expect thanks or even invite it for that matter. The real thanks is when your child learns to count to ten, ties his own shoelaces, zips up her own coat, learns to spell their name, eats all their vegetables, helps another child at school, gets a part in the school play, brings home an A, cooks a meal with you, cleans up their room, graduates college. You get my point.

Even just the biggest, brightest smile is enough.

Originally posted on The Jelly Bean Trail