Punch Elf?
I haven't ranted in a while, if ever, about the joys of being a working mom of three wonderful kiddos. The fact of the matter is, being a mom is tough stuff, working outside of the home or not. I am very blessed to work for an awesome company that allows me to work from home while providing some flexibility in my schedule. I don't know how I could cope if I had to go back to commuting to an office every day, especially around here with the traffic. For those of you who do, my hats off to you. I am super spoiled, but we all know that.
Anyway, even though I can work from home, this doesn't help my to-do list at all. Like all of us, the list, if I ever get around to making it, is miles long, not just one mile, but MILES!!! Sometimes the crap gets done, sometimes it doesn't. So far, the world has not caved in if I have to get take out 5, 6, or 7 nights a week, or hit target for clean socks because all of ours are dirty. J
This time of year, our lists are insane, right? Shopping, cooking, baking (hahahahaha), decorating, etc, etc, etc. I do the best I can, I am not super domestic, and thankfully my husband gets into the spirit early every year and kicks off the decorating. If it was left to me...let's face it, the stuff would be half done, at best, by Christmas morn.
So, a couple of years ago our home was invaded by the Elf. You may have heard of him, Elf on the Shelf. Well, I thought this was too darn cute...and since I only have one little believer these days, I wanted to cherish her innocence and love of the magic for as long as I can. Thanks to Pinterest, which is really just a site for masochists, I realized that I have been a super slacker in the Elf department. What do you mean other peoples elves actually DO STUFF, like take all of the ornaments off the tree or have snow fights with Barbie???? Ok, I thought, this can be fun to step up the game a bit. So, the Elf came, yes a little late....but he showed up, ok? The first day he was coloring, next he hijacked some Lego figures and took them on a train ride...today he is having a chat with the Christmas tree angel.
I came across this blog (http://www.peopleiwanttopunchinthethroat.com/2011/12/over-achieving-elf-on-shelf-mommies.html?m=1) where she rants about Elf and wanting to punch the over achieving Elf mommies in the throat. Admittedly, her blog is hysterical. I love it. I also agree with much of the commentary, why on earth would you allow Elf to be so mischievous that he causes you to WORK to clean up his messes? Let me tell you, I would fire that Elf and write Santa for a new one. I love the concept of Elf, Sophie wakes up excited wanting to know where he is that day, she’s excited! I do not however consider myself an over achiever, nor do I use the Elf to send notes of "shape up or else" notes. Who does that? Dang people, I know if you are doing that, you don't work. More power to ya, but if I didn't work, my time would be spent sitting on the couch eating bon bons before I ever let an elf in the house that I had to clean up after.
Here it comes… when I read this blog, I felt a little guilty at first. Was I trying to be an over achieving, social media bragging, Mommy? Heck no! I do the best I can every day to cherish the time with my kiddos. Before you know it, they are teenagers, getting into cars with other teenagers, and if you are lucky, they are sharing stories about what other teens do (terrifying stories) ....so capturing a little Elf innocence is a respite in my day, one that I will cherish for as long as I can...even if I have to scramble out of bed to wrestle the little guy awake because he forgot to move again, damn him!!!! Bottom line, punch the Elf in the throat, not the Mommy. Ok, reality, just toss him out and kill the tradition or create a new one. We are all just trying our best, some clearly a little harder than others. Rather than kill myself over an Elf, I think I will sit down and spend the time with my kids instead, that’s where the magic is.
XOXO. Hug your loved ones!
P.S. Here is a little Smilebox I made, because I am an over achiever, note that most of the decorating was done by my amazingly awesome super wonderful over achieving husband who I simply adore even though he drives me absolutely insane some days, ok at least once a day.
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