"How DO you do it?!?"

This Mother's Day a friend gushed to me, "I don't know how you DO it as a single parent! I barely get everything done myself."

Here's the secret to getting everything done... 

...JUST KIDDING. I have no clue! Parenting is a juggling act at the best of times, and I've never been great at juggling. I drop balls all the time. There aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, so I prioritize which balls to drop and which to keep in the air. 

Sometimes the homework gets dropped and the kids' teacher asks me if the homework packets have even been making it home. 

Sometimes my budgeting time gets dropped and I thank my foresight in setting up all automatic payments. 

Sometimes I don't sleep nearly enough. I glanced in the mirror at work last night and jumped. The reflection in the glass looked like a homeless hag who had a terminal case of crazy.

Sometimes I pour the kids' cereal into cups because all the other dishes are dirty. Shoot, sometimes we skip the cereal and just eat fruit and granola bars. I tell the kids that it's a breakfast picnic. Because I'm THAT awesome of a mom.

Sometimes my car looks like Storage Wars exploded inside it because I don't have the energy to carry both kids, all the backpacks and shoes, the groceries, AND everything else into the house. I've thought about making a regular car-cleaning day of the week, but when I try to find an empty space to plug that into my schedule, there isn't one.

Sometimes my kids act up because they miss focused mommy-time when I am too busy trying to keep all the other balls in the air. This ball is one that I really try not to drop. Even if the house is a war-zone, even if the dirty dishes are looming in mountainous proportions, even if the backpacks are stuffed with undone homework, sometimes the Most Important Thing is a tickling match or a bug-hunting expedition. 

Parenting is always a game of priorities. No matter what your parenting situation, raising kids is difficult and exhausting. It requires strategy and discipline (neither of which is my strong suit). I don't get everything done, but I usually make time for fun and love in the midst of the chaos. 

My social networking posts tend to be positive and fun, and too many people tell me what a perfect mom I am, so consider this a peek into the "real" world of this mama. The world where we push the clean laundry to one side of the couch to make room to cuddle and read together. The world where we leave the house and go hiking because there is too much work to do at home, and the kids need my attention more than the kitchen counters need my attention. The world where I promise my kids' teacher that the homework will all get done... someday. The world where I sigh in relief when I log into my bank account and see that all is well, in spite of my neglect. 

But one thing is true: I am a perfect mother. Perfect for MY kids. God knew what He was doing when He designed me with my unique skill set and passions, and He knew what He was doing when he formed my children. 

Perfect mothers love their children sacrificially. Perfect mothers teach their children priorities in the midst of real life. Perfect mothers see the big picture and realize that sometimes it's ok to let balls drop for a season. 

...and sometimes perfect mothers let their children watch cartoons while the housework goes unattended in order to carve out time for some devotions and a little blog-rumination about how perfect mothers manage to get everything done. 

Hats off to you perfect mothers! I don't know how you do it! Please feel free to share your secrets with me.