May-Day! May-Day!….

Yesterday was May Day (you can read more about it here).  But, for ME I kind of think of the month of May as a “may-day-may-day ship is heading down” type of a feeling.  With so many school events, plus trying to plan vacations and just dealing with the end of year stress (cough-cough-highschoolgrades-cough-cough).  Oy. Vey.

My ship is going down.

Here, actually, school is out in a matter of days and I feel like most of my stuff is winding down.

And actually, as of yesterday, I am no longer PTO president at the elementary.

{and the crowd goes wild with excitement}

But, I’m writing this a few weeks in advance and I am in the THICK of things.  We have a couple of large PTO events that I’m helping to carry out.  I feel a strong obligation to help my committee chairs succeed at anything they do.  I want to support them in any way that I can.

I’m also working to help transition in the new president and make sure things are seamless.

Oh, and I run a blog and I have a regular job and a regular family and a life…. {ok, the life part might be a stretch}

And frankly, there are days that I. WANT. TO. SCREAM!

I’m at my wits end, and I feel like the ship is going down.

So, I wanted to share 10 things I think when I’m ready to bust out my mom-radio and call may-day-may-day!

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1.  Call it!  There is NO reason I am shouldering all these feelings on my own.  There are plenty of hands to make light work.  I can always divvy out small tasks, it’s totally doable!
2. It is not always this bad.  Just a few weeks from now things will be much more normal.  I tend to feel like “things are always going to be like this” — and they’re not.  It’s just me, my hormones, the way I’m feeling, and today.
3. Have you eaten/hydrated?  Both of those things can happen very quickly, but I often forgo meals in order to get more done.  It’s not smart.  I’m dumb.  Take care of yourself and your basic human needs!
4. Nike.  Just do it.  One time I had someone call me to complain about a job they didn’t think they needed to do and literally took more time to complain about it than it would have to get the job done.  Sometimes tasks that look huge, really aren’t that big and will feel so good to get it done.  So, just roll up your sleeves and get it done.
5. Prioritize.  Sometimes I jump into something and realize that another thing REALLY needed to be done first, but I didn’t take a few precious minutes to really analyze what needed to be done first.
6. Stop looking at other people.  Yes, I am doing more than they are.  It’s always going to be that way.  In other organizations other people are doing more than me.  Stop comparing, stop looking, stop thinking.  All you can change is you.
7. Call a huddle with your family.  You always pitch in when your kids have a big project, so why don’t they pitch in when its your neck on the guillotine?!  Call a huddle, ask for everyone to be a team player!
8. Let it go.  Some things might get dropped.  And that’s OK.  In reality, if you’ve reached out and no one else is willing, then maybe it wasn’t that important in the first place.  Drop balls (I am a HORRIBLE ball dropper, so that one is as much for me as anyone else).
9. I think the MOST important step is, once it’s all over,  to really be proud of all you got done, and all you accomplished.  When the crazy time is over.  Look back to realize you create a lot of good in the world, and that (hopefully) will be worth those crazy times.
10. Were you REALLY going down? —  Evaluate for the next time.  Take a moment of self reflection to see if it’s all worth it.  Maybe realize how close you were to the ground and that things really were bad.  You were on fire and without a parachute.  You don’t need to be that.  But if you’re hitting turbulence, and you just THINK the plane is going down…. that’s doable.

Because you’re a great mom.  You’re doing great things.  And your family appreciates you, even if they never say it.  You’re not going down.  You’ve got this.

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