How do you stay content with day-to-day life?

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This was part of today’s reflection of the Gospel reading on wau.org

Thought it was very timely for this thread!🙂

But it’s not just the heroic saints and martyrs who build the church. Parents can become moving ambassadors of Christ simply by virtue of the lives they lead. Every meal fixed, every load of laundry done out of love, every paycheck earned, every lawn mowed, every soccer game attended, every prayer uttered, every moment of teaching and discipline offered out of love for Jesus will bear abundant fruit.
 
I’ll be straight out honest… I’m NOT happy with day to day life sometimes. I am 27 weeks pregnant with #4, it’s HOOOOT outside, I have a hateful SIL and MIL, my Dh is super busy with his school, the other kids aren’t listening worth a gnat, and I’m super temperamental right now. I even went to Confession earlier this week and while my 2yr old was slamming the confessional door, I looked at the priest, with tears in my eyes and asked “Is it ok for me to feel rage right now from being embarrassed, tired and upset because I did NOT raise my kids to be this way and they are normally not this embarrassing.”

And the best words I heard in ages were: “You are human. You’ve had alot thrown onto your plate in the past year. When was the last time you took five minutes to yourself and to just pray? Not a formulaic prayer, not a Mass, not a rosary… but just a prayer?”

So while my kids are still grounded for their behavior, I’ve started to realize that I had (and still have) my 5 P’s in the wrong order. We should have our life based on these five P’s because each one leads to the next. Put one before the other (starting from the bottom up), and you’ll feel frazzled.

1)Prayer- ask God for help and forgiveness, give thanks/adoration
2)Person- take time for yourself
3)Partner- give time for your spouse
4)Parent- give time for your children with your spouse
5)Provider- anyone not included in the above P’s.

(Those P’s came from Holly Pielot “A Mother’s Rule of Life”)

Lot’s of hugs to you mama. I hope things start to look up soon!
 
Just heard the late Bishop Sheen(sp?) on relavant radio recently. He said we must always remember why we are here, To Know God, To Love God, and to Serve God. Everything we do should be done as best as we can for him. **not the exact quote but close! Keeps things in perspective for me and helps me realize that I am here for a purpose.
You are obviously here to continue being a great mom and wife! Its the everyday humdrum that makes a Saint out of you. Be sure to offer everything up to God and ask him to bless all you do.
 
Proeliator said:
… You are obviously here to continue being a great mom and wife! …
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Drat. 😉 Some days I wish I’d listened harder for a vocation to be a cloistered nun.:nun1:
Oh well, at least moms can wear cute shoes–that is unless their pregnant feet are swollen . 😉
 
Thank God for your busy, full life! 🙂

My daughter, who is 13 now, brought this poem home from pre-school one day. It was cut out and glued to a paper plate (the frame!) with a lady bug sticker on it.

I can’t get through it without some kleenex, even now, nine years later!!

Thank You, Lord

For all these smallnesses I thank You, Lord;
small children and small needs;
small meals to cook, small talk to heed,
and a small book from which to read
small stories; small hurts to heal
small disppointments, too, as real as ours;
small glories to discover in bugs, pebbles, and flowers.

When day is through my mind is small, my strength is gone;
and as I gather each dear one,
I pray, “Bless each one for Jesus’ sake,”
Such angels sleeping, imps awake!

What wears me out are little things’
angels minus shining wings
Forgive me, Lord, if I have whined;
it takes so much to keep them shined;
yet each small rub has its reward
for they have blessed me.
Thank You, Lord! —Ruth Bell Graham

:crying:
 
Little_Mary said:
Thank God for your busy, full life! 🙂

My daughter, who is 13 now, brought this poem home from pre-school one day. It was cut out and glued to a paper plate (the frame!) with a lady bug sticker on it.

I can’t get through it without some kleenex, even now, nine years later!!

Thank You, Lord

For all these smallnesses I thank You, Lord;
small children and small needs;
small meals to cook, small talk to heed,
and a small book from which to read
small stories; small hurts to heal
small disppointments, too, as real as ours;
small glories to discover in bugs, pebbles, and flowers.

When day is through my mind is small, my strength is gone;
and as I gather each dear one,
I pray, “Bless each one for Jesus’ sake,”
Such angels sleeping, imps awake!

What wears me out are little things’
angels minus shining wings
Forgive me, Lord, if I have whined;
it takes so much to keep them shined;
yet each small rub has its reward
for they have blessed me.
Thank You, Lord! —Ruth Bell Graham

:crying:
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Little Mary–thank you for posting that–I am going to print that I think–and put in on my frig!!!:hug1:
 
What fabulous advice! Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my thread. Even in my state of (somewhat) discontent, as CatholicSam said, I think it’s time to have another baby. Since I have times lately where I don’t even like being a mother, I know this baby-desire must be straight from God. He must be trying to teach or tell me something. I know this is ultimately what His plan is for me, so I just need to figure out how to get the most enjoyment from it.
 
AnnaTherese said:
I don’t want to dimish the stress behind anything you said because it is very real, but I just wanted to throw something out for your own personal reflection, and this is not at all a judgement, just a question for you alone to consider. How’s your prayer life? Are you getting any quiet time in the morning before the stress begins? Are you asking for the graces you need to carry out your vocation everyday? Are you offering up your day and all the sacrifices you are about to embrace? Are you asking Our Lady for her intercession on your behalf? Is it at all possible to get to daily Mass? The only reason I throw that out is that I have noticed that I struggle more with kindness and contentment and patience and all of that when I have not been praying and asking for those graces.
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My prayer life had been lacking lately, but I recently got my life a little more on schedule and made prayer time part of my afternoon routine. I NEED all the sleep I can get in the morning to be human so I don’t get up until my daughter wakes me up, so I sit down and have my prayer time when she takes her nap. Daily Mass would be tough just because it’s very early. I do try to watch it on EWTN a few times a week. I have been prayer to Our Lady A LOT more lately and it does seem to help, especially when I went through a short stage where I was mad at God.
 
eliza3b said:
No, you are not the only one! I had four children in six years during which my husband worked crazy hours getting his business off the ground (and was never around). I missed my former Wall Street job (and $), college friends, great vacations, generally carefree lifestyle. I missed it all. Sometimes I couldn’t believe where I ended up. But after a couple of years something happened. I began to like where I was, I made some nice friends, my children were a great source of joy for me, I began to realize that this is where I should be.
.
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This is kind of where I’ve been lately, missing my old political job, missing the extra money that allowed us to enjoy dinners out, movies, designer clothes…no real responsibilities, lots of “me” time and couple time. I tend toward selfishness at times and I think that’s been hard to overcome. Selfish is the last thing a mom can be, at least if she wants to be a good mom!
 
Exercise helps me a lot. It’s just hard to make it a priority when you have little private time and so many family demands.

Do any of you just feel restless, like you want to pick up and move to a new state?
 
leonie said:
Do any of you just feel restless, like you want to pick up and move to a new state?
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I’ve felt a little like that lately. I told DH I wanted to pack up amd move to a farm in the south, and on bad news days I want to move “off the grid” on a farm in Montana, maybe move next to Ted Nugent. 😛
 
I feel like a real whinger but I have to admit, I’m far from content, far from happy with my day to day life. I tend to dwell on the bad things and worry about them all at once and lately, there’s been so many bad things to worry about. It’s been a hard year for me and it’s really getting me down.
So, MooCowSteph, you’re definately not alone!
I do pray as much as I can, and God is never far from my thoughts and I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter whether I’m happy or not on this earth, that’s not what it’s about. All that matters is that my discontent with life, my present state of unhappiness, doesn’t cause me to sin.
So I’m trying to not snap at people because I feel miserable, or be short tempered or irratable because I’m tired and stressed.
I’m trying not to take out my bad feelings and emotions on anyone else. THAT’S the hard part!
 
kaj3 said:
You may be. I’m perfectly joyful. And why shouldn’t I be? My house is SPOTLESS! I have plenty of money for that new outfit I wanted for the wedding this weekend. My extended family never bothers me. Summer is my favorite time of year – especially when the dew points are in the 70’s for weeks on end. The first trimester of pregnancy is such a wonderful feeling with all kinds of energy and no nausea. And my children! OH! Well, they are perfect ANGELS all.of.the.time.

OH wait a minute. I think I dozed off there for a few minutes and had a lovely dream. 😉
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:rotfl: Don’t you love those kinds of dreams?
 
How do you stay content with day-to-day life?

I don’t 😛 . I’m selfish and ungrateful and have always complained about very different things. Now I’m in the house all the time with a baby w/o the possibility of going for a walk and I’m going insane and complaining all the time.

I saw an email I wrote to a friend just before I got married: I was complaining about having to run from job to job all around town and working from 8AM to 10PM with barely a break.

Whatever it’s like, day-to-day life sucks. That’s why we invest all our hopes into eternity 😉
 
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