4 Lessons I Learned as a Kindergarten Mom

So Kamryn completed her first year of elementary school! YAY! And I know all parents say that their kid is smart, but my baby girl is exceptionally smart! Her teacher was so blown away by her progress throughout the year so much that she told me she felt like she should get Kamryn’s autograph as she knew it would be worth something one day.

This year taught me so much as a mom and today I am going to share with you my TOP 4 “Mom Lessons Learned” this year.

Mom Lesson Learned #1: Time is a precious gift and I am indeed in control of how I choose to spend and value it

You cannot reverse time. Time after my health is the most valuable thing that I possess. What I have learned is that I indeed do have control over time in the sense of how I choose to spend and value it. My babies grow every second and that is time that I will never get back. I get very sad when I realize just how big she is, because it is a constant reminder that time is not slowing down. And in all honesty it feels like it is speeding up when I look back in retrospect. But peace calms my anxiety by knowing that I have been the best mother to her and have been right along her side the ENTIRE time. I sometimes feel like the enemy tries to separate the two in my mind where I feel like I have missed out on time that has passed, but God whispers this in my spirit to help me realize that I have been there growing alongside her.

So my lesson is this: As a mother I am honest about my feelings of sadness of how fast they grow. But I am thankful for his gentle reminder of how great I am doing with valuing my time spent with my babies. I cannot reverse time, mistakes, or mishaps. But I can value the importance of time that I spend with them by choosing to control the precious gift of time to work in my favor of building memories that we can both cherish forever!

Mom Lesson Learned #2: Be Ready so you don’t have to stay ready. I need to get a little more organized to tackle #momlife vs. #schoollife

So why didn’t y’all warn me about all of these events and special days when it comes to Kindergarten and grade school?!?

My next lesson is: ORGANIZATION!

This year kept me on my toes because I had to keep track of all of these “no school days”, teacher appreciation day, tie-die t-shirt days (when I had no tie-die t-shirts with a 24-hour advance notice), field trips, and the list goes on.

I took a step back in my career for flexibility for my babies. So that I can be front and center for it all. I remember when Kamryn’s eyes lit up when I was there to assist her classroom with their fall festival. I think my heart did a cartwheel when I realized that I was the only mom that volunteered for the fall festival. I was able to meet her friends and see them interact which was beautiful, especially in the wake of COVID.

But honey, I have to get more organized for this upcoming school year. As a Pharmacist, Corporate America frowns upon you for calling out for common colds, field trips, and fall festivals, because they truly don’t give a damn. They need you to push their agenda, numbers, and workload and give two middle fingers about you wanting to be the best mom that you can be, as they smile in your face and ask how your children are doing while they are bad mouthing your about your denied request and last minute call outs for RSV (I digress).

So I have to be prepared going into next year. I have already downloaded the calendar for next school year and have reminders so we are READY!

So my motherhood lesson: Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. I am learning from mistakes this year to make life less stressful and hectic next year by planning ahead of time for those things that I fell short of this year. When you know better, you do better

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Mom Lesson Learned #3: It is okay to be unprepared and to not be able to show up for everything.

Because I didn’t always have a cheerleader in the stands, my goal is to be Superwoman to my girls! The person that will always show up when they need me and be the loved one in the bleacher, at practice, or in the carline waiting for them EVERY SINGLE TIME. This is my goal!

I remember Kamryn had her first field trip to the farm and of course it fell on the one day that I had to work at the hospital. With schools supplying such a short advance notice it was seemingly impossible to make her first field trip. Now we have already established how whack corporate America is. But my reality is this: I am a Clinical Pharmacist and Health Coach and Mama is being pulled in many directions. So I do my very best with what I have.

Kamryn had tears in her eyes when I told her I wouldn’t be able to make it, I felt like I had failed her and couldn’t believe that I was missing her first field trip. I wanted to be Superwoman, but my kryptonite was that I gave myself no grace!

This year has taught me to give myself more grace than I thought I was giving myself. I learned the difference between being the mom that shows up for when I physically can versus the mom that has the physical ability to show up and that chooses not to. It took me some time to realize that I was not failing my daughters and that I was just doing the best that I could. I mean I juggle A LOT, doing all that I do, and the bottom line is that I won’t be there for everything, but I will be there for the things that I can attend/do.

Mom Lesson Learned #4: Self care is safety care.

Since I juggle so much I have learned the importance of self-care. Self-care is something that we struggle with as moms because we guilt trip ourselves out of it time and time again. Self-care is not selfish care, it is what I like to call “safety care”. A safety to ensure that you are mentally, physically, and emotionally intact to be the best version of yourself for your loved ones. You show up differently when you are taking care of your needs versus when you are neglecting your needs. I have learned to have weekly non-negotiables of small things that I can do for myself with at least one major self-care thing once a month or every other month just to stay in tune with my needs and to ensure that I am showing up as the mother I desire to be.

If you are struggling in this area I want you to take care of you and to download my free guide: Mom Guild to Mom Goals – A guide to finding the balance between being super mom and taking care of your body. Inside you will learn the importance of who you are at your core and use that to show up daily not just for you and your family, but as the woman of God that you are. Click below to download guide.