Am I Thriving?

You hear it all the time from celebrity moms, "My child is my world." "I'm a completely different person." "Everything is perfect now."

I'm not going to lie, I often read those quotes and roll my eyes. They always make motherhood sound all butterflies and rainbows.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are many moments where motherhood is butterflies and rainbows, but there are also the moments where it's rainstorms and thunder as well.

I love my daughter and in more ways than I can count, my life has changed since she was born. I would say that she has genuinely become the center of my husbands and my world. But motherhood isn't all that my life is about.

It is a part.

A very huge part.

But a part.

I am still a wife and a sister; a friend and a teacher.

All of these things still hold precedent in my life.

So now comes the hard part. How do you balance it all.

How do you, and in my case, how do I, as a working mom, make sure that in all of the craziness I am giving my daughter the attention, love and support she needs.

Often times I find myself feeling like I don't give her enough of my energy. I feel guilty for being tired when I get home form work and I feel guilty when all I want to do is curl up and zone out in front of the TV for a bit.

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I was sharing these feelings with a new colleague at work and a woman who I am thankful to call a new friend; and she asked something that was so poignant and true.

She asked...

"Well, is your family thriving?"

To which I thought about and answered, yes.

We love each other. My husband and I have a strong healthy relationship, we equally care for and love our daughter and we do the best we can for her. She is healthy and growing, learning and loving.

So, yes, we are thriving. We are growing as individuals and as a family unit.

That's it. That's all you can ask for. On those days when I feel guilty for being tired or for throwing so much energy into my work, I have to ask myself...

Are we thriving?

As long as I can consistently answer yes to that question then I have done all I can.

Family Beach trip to the Outer Banks, NC, Summer 2011