As a mom, and especially as a homeschooling mom, I feel like I am running behind a lot. There is always laundry that needs to be done. Dishes in the sink. Messes to clean. Diapers to change... there is just always something.

It's particularly hard for me on days like today, when my husband is off work and free to relax in the sun with the kids playing on bikes or with sidewalk chalk...and I am inside trying to tackle any number of my undone chores.

I start to feel a little pathetic. Like the maid.

And I feel really lonely too. I love my family and I want to do the fun parts too...not just the cranky mom parts.

I have tried various systems and tricks and know that some work far better than others and some just require a few days of commitment that I seem to have a hard time finding...but overwhelmingly I feel like I need to just accept that I can't get it all done and that that is, actually, okay.

I don't need a magazine house as long as I truly am doing the very best I can, while keeping my priorities in order. My kids can live with a few extra toys on the floor if it means the difference between time playing with mom or not. My marriage deserves more attention than the bedspread.

This is really difficult for me because I know plenty of women who seem to do it all... but I am not them. It's okay not to be.

So today I put down the duster and went outside and colored on the sidewalk for an hour with all my family. And we laughed and smiled like we haven't been able to do for quite sometime.

And the dishes got done, the dinner got cooked, bedtime prayers were said...and great memories were made.