TRADITIONAL MOTHERHOOD

I named this blog Traditional Motherhood because that is what brings me joy.  In my opinion, motherhood is the best job in the world, but it is also one of the hardest.  I feel the happiest as a mother when I can simplify life, focus on my faith, stay home, and spend time with my family.  To me, that is motherhood in the traditional sense.

To create that atmosphere, though, is so hard in today's fast-paced world.  We live in a society in which more is better, busy is the norm, faith is an afterthought (if thought about at all), and family time must be scheduled for it to happen.

Sometimes, I get caught up in all the craziness that exists in our world and then I feel different--more stressed, more tired, more impatient, and certainly less focused on others.  This is not the way I want to feel, so I am striving to be different and to be deliberate.  I think that if I can make deliberate choices about how I want to live my life, then I will be doing the best I can to be the best person, wife, and mother I can be.

It sounds easy to make deliberate choices.  We make choices every day, after all.  But, I want to make intentional decisions not only about the little things, like what to cook for dinner, but also about the big things, like whether my family is over-committed or whether we are creating enough time for prayer.

I have tried to live intentionally.  I have made lists, posted them around the house, changed my routine, and more, but it is hard and I have failed many times.  Distractions are all around us.  I am so easily distracted, primarily by the Internet and television.  Too often, I compare myself to other moms I read about or to moms in my own community.  Life is hard.  Times can be tough.  It is not easy to make big, deliberate changes in one's life.

So, I am starting this blog to keep myself accountable.  I want to be the kind of mother who takes the time to show her children what is important in this world and what is not important.  I want to teach them our faith, how to live simply, how to be grateful for what they have, and to serve others.  I want to spend time with them, create memories, have family dinners, and let them play in the backyard.  I want to be a traditional mom.