Sometimes, my life is full of too many choices. And I’m freaking out.
It all started on an innocent, solo trip to my favorite vacation place. You know the place: Target. No kids in the cart asking for Oreos and toys? This definitely qualifies as a vacay. I had a pretty short list, so I was taking my sweet time, meandering the aisles and soaking in the Target Aroma, or whatever they pump through their air ducts that makes me want to buy everything in the store.
Then, it happened. I got to an important item on my list.
“Mom Deodorant.”
And as I stood in front of the uniform rows of blue and white tubes, the panic started to set in. You see, I am 36 years old, and for some strange reason I do NOT have a deodorant type yet. What type am I going to get today? Why is there now deodorant that comes in aerosol spray again? Is that legal? My eyes wandered down to the lower racks to consider the natural deodorant, and ironically, my hands began to sweat. Let’s be real, I needed the heavy duty stuff. It was time to choose. I considered asking someone else for advice, but there was no one close enough, and that’s kind of weird. I basically closed my eyes and grabbed the one in the middle. I didn’t look at it until check out time – Coconut Splash. Gross.
A seemingly small decision nearly gave me a meltdown in the middle of Target. And it wasn’t so much about the item itself, but rather the decision to make. We make hundreds of decisions each day as parents, and sometimes we reach the point of decision fatigue. I try to cut myself some slack, as we’ve had major medical decisions to make in our family in the past year, and sometimes it saps me to the point that deciding what’s for dinner or which chore to start makes me shut down. Our decisions for us and our kids can have seemingly endless consequences, and that can cause anxiety in even the most composed momma (note: this composed momma is NOT me).
Don’t be defeated by the deodorant aisle.
I remind myself, at moments like this, that I might be slacking on planning. Writing down our meals for the week or making some additional notes in my calendar about to-do’s for the day can make a big difference. Sometimes, I write a To Do list, with the first item being ‘make a list’. Then, I get to check it off! If you find yourself having trouble with all decisions, big or small, it might be time to ask for help. I know that I did. And remind yourself that it is ok to ask for help.
We can do this. We are strong, awesome mommas. That might just smell like Coconut Splash.
