Momming so hard

I'm writing this post today more as an accountability post for myself.  I've been thinking a lot lately about goals.  Ben gave me a journal for Valentine's Day that's kind of like a bullet journal- only the prompts and stuff are already in the journal and it's centered around making and accomplishing goals.  And I've been struggling to even come up with goals because being an at home mom often feels so mundane and monotonous.  I feel like when I was single or even married and working, it was much easier for me to set goals and then outline the necessary steps to achieve them.  Like getting a bachelors degree or getting a promotion.  But now that I'm at home, changing diapers and doing dishes and laundry all day every day, I often feel like I don't have any goals left in me to achieve.  Like ok- raise my kids? Make sure they make it into adulthood? What does that even look like and how do I make concrete goals to achieve that?

So I decided I need to look at being a mom like a job (yes I  know it's a job, I'm just saying...) and set some goals to become a better mom.  Because it's always good to try and be better.  I need to put my God given talents to use by putting my all into being a mom.  I have often felt lately like I have all of this potential and talent and yet it's wasted because I don't do anything but change diapers and (sometimes) clean my house.  But that's not true.

So I have thought to myself- what are my strengths? And how can I translate that into becoming a better mother/wife/member of my church congregation/resident of my neighborhood/ etc?

I am creative - I can come up with fun things for Flint (and eventually Dorothy) for me to do together.  Crafts, imaginary play, fort building. It will create fun memories for me and my kids, it will strengthen my bond with them, and it will build their imaginations and minds.

I am smart - I can teach my children to love learning and about the world around them.  I can teach them the truth about things.  I can help them in their educational goals and bond with the while doing so.  I can continue learning to keep my mind sharp, even though I am not attending a school anymore.

I am faithful - I can testify of my love of the Savior and of my knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel to my children and husband and friends.  I can share goodness and help my children develop their own testimonies of the Savior and his gospel.  I can dedicate myself to having a good thought out Family Home Evening each week to increase our bond as a family.

I am brave- I can show my children that I'm not afraid to do hard things.  I can talk to them and be open about things I go through that are hard, but that I do anyway and become better for them. I can talk with my children about the things they find hard that they are confronted with in their lives.

And the list can go on.  And if I'm not good at something, I can get better at it, which will benefit not only myself, but my family as well.  One thing I want to be better at is being healthy by taking care of my body by eating well and being more active.  By having an active family, we will grow closer together and feel better both mentally and physically.  In general, healthy people are happy people.

So I've realized I just need to change my mindset about this momming thing.  I can still use my many talents, just not in the way I used to use them.  And that is definitely a goal worth setting and achieving.