Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s the mantra of moms around the world and can be applied to just about every task associated with parenting.
Every day is Groundhog Day in my world.
For those of you who have never seen the hilarious movie featuring Bill Murray, as a less than intrepid Pittsburgh TV weatherman, then you might consider paying to view it this week. If you are a parent, I’m sure you will be able to relate to Murray’s character’s never ending time loop.
It’s the monotony of motherhood. We complain about it, but most of us also get on our knees at night to count our blessing for the privilege.
Of course, remembering it’s a privilege when you are in the heat of the moment is easier said than done.
The alarm goes off or the baby screams you awake, you shuffle to the bedrooms to wake the older kids for school, change the baby’s diaper, enter the kitchen, make breakfast, clean up mess from breakfast, load the dishwasher, change diaper, get kids to school, change diaper, unload the dishwasher, load the washing machine, change diaper, make lunch, clean up the mess from lunch, change diaper, unload washing machine, load dryer, fold laundry, change diaper, pick up kids from school, help with homework, change diaper, make dinner, clean up dinner mess, unload dishwasher, load dishwasher, change diaper, go to bed, wake up and do it all over again.
Okay, it’s not exactly the same routine every day. There are times when you may have to change a few more diapers or a kid gets sick and you have to run a few more loads of laundry or some appliance explodes and you don’t get to do laundry at all.
Still, there is something to be said about routines and monotony: it is what you make it. In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character doesn’t allow the endless cycle of monotony to get him down. Rather, he throws himself into his daily activities and actually saves some lives in the process. He transcends the rut, goes to bed and wakes up to a new, albeit familiar day.
There’s a message in there for mothers… somewhere. Probably under the pile of dirty laundry.
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