Perfection Pending

By Meredith Ethington

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Childhood Family Humor In the Motherhood Manic Mondays Motherhood Parenting

Current Events of a Stay At Home Mom

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I used to be up on current events. Now my “news” comes from the current HuffPost article that is creating a lot of buzz with some ridiculous stirred up controversy, and the tiny blurb of the today show I watch while I scarf down my lunch. I record it everyday so I’m not completely clueless. But, honestly, as I was discussing the crisis with Putin and the Ukraine with a childless friend, I realized that my definition of current events sure has changed dramatically. While I try not to be clueless, I am. But, if you ask me about what’s going on in my household every day, there is plenty to report.

Current Events Of a Stay At Home Mom

My husband calls with the nonchalant, “What’s going on over there today?” and I seldom have anything truly noteworthy of saying out loud to him. He is off at work saving people’s lives and stuff, and I’m working on getting the two year old to pronounce the first syllable of words. “No, it’s OATmeal” I say for the millionth time while he responds proudly, “meal!”

While that is definitely useful to both the two year old and me because speaking is an important life skill, it may not exactly make the news.  But, my SAHM “news” is just as important. Because depending on what kind of current events are going on in my house, it may make or break my day.

The “Weather”

The weather around here consists mostly of the moods of 5 humans and a cat that try to co-exist. While Al Roker talks about the latest cold snap that is attacking the country, I’ve got to know whether the two-year old is going to wake up in a fury like an angry tornado, or wake up like a calm breezy, sunny afternoon. Either one of those things have a drastic impact on what goes on in this house. Not to mention whether or not I get enough sleep to be a happy mom, or one that is just on survival mode for the day.

Current Events

And, while weather is extremely important, there are other things that play a role in the day to day current events too. Let’s take body functions for example, which I would classify as the “headline news”. Sure, you may not think how many times a baby poops in a day is all that significant, but I do. How many runny noses will be wiped vs. who is throwing up is always the top story of the day. Bodily functions play a big role in whether or not we can leave the house, get a babysitter, or socialize with others. So, it’s important stuff, I tell you.

Food

What’s for dinner? is always an important segment. They always have cooking segment of some kind on news shows, right? Sometimes I’ve got my A game going if I get food in the crockpot by 10am and I feel like a master chef, and other days, we’re scrounging and eating the leftover mac and cheese we found in the back of the fridge. There will always be a co-chef that can barely reach the counters wanting to assist me in my efforts.

The Filler News Stories

Laundry, homework, and cleaning the bathroom are like all of those annoying filler news stories we see like whether or not it’s national puppy day, or if Prince Harry suffered altitude sickness. No one really cares about the laundry, homework or whether the bathrooms have to be cleaned, but if we didn’t have those things, how would we fill up the schedule? They are indeed necessary just like reporting on Justin Beiber’s latest arrest. If we didn’t have those kinds of stories, the Today show would be about 15 minutes long.

Special Interest Stories

The special interest stories happen from time to time that warm your heart. It might be an extra hug from the baby, or an unsolicited “I love you” from the 7 year old. Either way, those are the moments that make you feel good around here. The special interest stories are the ones you think won’t be that interesting, but they are what makes you keep coming back for more. After all, how would we survive parenting without snuggle time, I love you’s, and the occasional please and thank you?

So, even though I don’t know how to solve the latest crisis in Syria, and I don’t know what is going on with the missing Malaysian plane, I know that right here in my house, there is enough going on to keep me busy and the latest news around here is just as important as what Kim Kardashian ate for breakfast.


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Comments

  1. Brittany says

    March 24, 2014 at 6:23 am

    I love this! I feel the same way too… I have nothing really interesting to talk about over here… and yet it makes or breaks the whole day.

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      March 24, 2014 at 2:17 pm

      It totally does!

      Reply
  2. Michelle says

    March 24, 2014 at 9:13 am

    Yes, I can relate! My husband used to come home and tell me all about his day at work and i found myself telling him all about MY day at home and as I listened to myself tell him about the laundry, or a mess someone made or whatever, I realized how mundane it must sound to him. But it’s NOT mundane. You’re raising little humans, which is the most mundane thing a person can do. At least we have blogging so that others can listen to us and understand:)))

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      March 24, 2014 at 2:16 pm

      For sure! Without blogging I think I would go insane some days!

      Reply
  3. Kelly McKenzie says

    March 24, 2014 at 9:20 am

    I’ve just hit the rewind button and been transported back 15 years. You nailed it. Yes to the fact that you might not be “up on current affairs” but you are up on what’s happening right inside your home and your family. That’s so very important. Your three are very lucky indeed.

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      March 24, 2014 at 2:15 pm

      Thanks Kelly. Glad you could relate!

      Reply
  4. Ana Lynn says

    March 24, 2014 at 11:48 am

    I’d take current events of the stay at home mom over any political news any day of the week! Yes, I realize the importance of being informed but in general news make me depressed so I tend to catch up on them once a week to stay in the loop.

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      March 24, 2014 at 2:14 pm

      Once a week sounds really good! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Rayna says

    March 24, 2014 at 3:47 pm

    Cute!! I love how you used the Today show and news to compare your daily life…SO CLEVER! You are so amazing! 😀 I still say they need to do a news ticker on the bottom of cartoons so parents can get their news while having to endure another morning of cartoons.

    Reply

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Welcome! I’m Meredith.

Mom. Writer. Diet Coke connoisseur. Born and raised Texan. Lover of real talk and laughter with a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

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Meredith Ethington

perfectpending

Mom • Author • Mental Health Therapist In Training
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Night night! 😤 Night night! 😤
If you missed my last post about how raising teens If you missed my last post about how raising teens can wreck you mentally….wellll this is part of the reason why. So lonely! But we are in this together somehow. 😂 Make sure to check out my latest substack and grab a copy of my book —- The Mother Load!
NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid NEW ---> "When there are problems in these big kid years, it’s no longer really acceptable to call a friend and air the annoyances of the situation. At least not the specifics.

Sure, you can commiserate with a fellow parent about teenagers being the worst.

But, to be honest - they’re not the worst. They’re kind of amazing. But their problems make me tired to my core." 

Read the latest on my substack. I promise you'll relate. ❤️
So sweet. ❤️ Follow me @perfectpending and bet So sweet. ❤️
Follow me @perfectpending and better yet buy my book or subscribe to my substack to support me.
"I don’t know about you, but I don’t really wa "I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want same-ness anymore. I want messy. I want admissions that shit is hard and we don’t have it all together. I want to have a makeup free, messy bun in my sweats run in with a mom friend and not feel worried she’s checking out my un-groomed eyebrows.

I don’t want to try to give off this illusion that I’m control of my life any better than the next person. It’s a shitshow for all of us, and we continue to hide it for fear of what? Being human?"

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WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I WHAT IF THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I’LL EVER BE AND I MISS IT? What if I miss the best time of my life. What if it’s right this second?
What if it’s right now while I’m in finals week of grad school, and have a kid that’s sick? 
I already miss so much. The gummy smiles of babes without any teeth. The squeaky voices of 2 year olds. The babbling of a baby that’s just trying so hard to say mama. The grammar mistakes my kids make when they’re talking that I don’t have the heart to correct because I love it too much. 

I miss a lot about those younger years that have already slipped away. My youngest is sick, much like in this picture, but he is too big to snuggle in my arms now when he’s running a fever. 

Today I had the thought, what if this is it? What if this IS the happiest I’ll ever be?
For a moment, I lingered in that thought as I stood over my sink and did the dishes. I started to cry.
Am I missing it? AM I? I felt a tug that maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t relishing enough, and enjoying enough, and being present enough.
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New year, same me. 😂 #mentalhealth #anxiety #de New year, same me. 😂
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression
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I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of th I’ve got to admit - I’m kind of over all of this. *sweeps arm generally at planet earth*

Look, I’ve never been a half glass full kind of gal. I can ALWAYS find the negative in every situation. 

But, right now it’s easy to say that I’m over it. It being.....

The state of our economy. Social media. People being unemployed. People being racist and homophobic. The debate over politics. People judging people. ALLLLLL of it. 

Everything is crap right now. We joke about it a lot. We have to in order to survive. 

It’s the one millionth day of January but Spring feels so far away. 

I’m over these four damn walls that we call home. 

Yeah, I know. Even as I’m typing this it all sounds like a bunch of ungrateful whiney BS. I hear it. I don’t need you to point it out, Karen. 

But, my guess is you’re reading this right now and realizing you’re over it too. Whatever “it” is in your life.

Some days the world feels like total crap. Everything is a mess. Everything costs too much. For E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. 

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Here’s what I do know 👇 No one knows what th Here’s what I do know 👇

No one knows what they’re doing. 
We all feel like imposters. 
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