Don't you just crave those moments when you are simply "whelmed?"
I woke up this morning and saw yet another huge pile of laundry, dishes to be done, furniture completely dustified...even the walls with their own layer, kids expecting to eat (come on people...didn't you just do that yesterday?!), appointments to be made, appointments to be kept, kids in, kids out, rides and more rides, homework, etc.
My brain quickly went to its "overwhelmed" mode, which connects directly to the place that initiates the "mean psycho mother" switch. It is in this mode that the heart beats a bit faster, palms begin to sweat, pupils dilate and any creature (the children do seem a bit like creatures when I am in this stage) that happens to cross my path will be considered the "enemy."
What exactly does it mean to be overwhelmed?
to load, heap, treat, or address with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything
Found on the other side of this coin is the "underwhelmed" mode. This feeling of boredom sometimes comes when a person has nothing to do except tend to a baby, change a diaper and fix a couple of sandwiches. You may only have the TV to keep you company (which does get old quick). No one is calling (yet), the house is spotless (just you wait), no doorbells are ringing-one after the other asking for play dates (that too will come), no homework, no projects, not much of anything happens on a given day!
This phenomena known as being underwhelmed is hard too. I have been there so many times. In this mode, life can get a bit mundane. You wonder if you will ever have "me" time or "we" time (that precious time with your husband WITHOUT the kids). You dream about a shirt without spit up, a book read in its entirty, a potty trained child...those days that seem to never end and aren't really that exciting.
un·der·whelm
verb
to fail to interest or astonish
I think we all "want" big! We want the perfect husband, the big house, the adorable kids, the fancy cars, the unlimited outfits, the fluffy puppy, the snuggly kitty...we want and want and soon we fall into the "overwhelmed" trap.
After spending so much of our time and energy capturing our wants we find out some interesting things:
1. Husband aren't perfect
2. Big houses requiring lots of cleaning and maintenance
3. Adorable kids are loud and require food and clothing
4. Cars get old and stinky real fast (and big ones guzzle gas)
5. The more clothes you have the more wash (and storage needed)
6. Puppies turn into dogs (and both poop on the carpet)
7. Cats shed like crazy and sometimes go pee pee in places other than their litter boxes
And just like that, the overwhelmed mode on your brain begins...creating a very unpleasant wife, mother and friend.
I really think I just want to be whelmed....
...to find joy and happiness with the the moment. A messy house can wait, fallen down shutter can too! My oldest child, now a sophomore in high school, who was my little baby girl so long ago (and a time of my life that I may have thought underwhelming...how wrong I was) will soon be gone. I long for a little underwhelming in my life.
Whatever life moment you are currently living...just live it. Sometimes you will be a bit "over" and other times you will be a little bit "under."
The goal is to enjoy it all, living in the moments and simply be "whelmed."
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