It's Saturday night. I'm standing in the middle of Kingsway Mall in Edmonton on a stage, the mall empty except for 200 moms with filled wine glasses in the audience. This is my kind of party!
The topic I was invited to speak about to this group of moms was how to find balance as a mother. Instead, I spoke about the myth of balance and the pressure women are under to be everything to everyone. If you couldn't be in the audience that night, here are some of the points I covered that may be helpful for you.
Balance is a Myth
I see motherhood more as a rollercoaster ride which you can't control. There are times when life will be chugging along at a comfortable pace and everything is going as planned. But realistically, much of our time as mothers is reacting to forces and events beyond our control that cause us to frantically jump into damage control mode. My advice? Go with the flow and hang on for the ride. Know that these scary, out-of-control times will soon pass and life will go back to normal...for a little while.
Accept Imperfection
If you try to be perfect you'll always fail. When it comes to parenting, work at being good enough. If you can honestly say that you're doing your best within the circumstances, you deserve a gold star! And a nap!
Delegate
They say it takes a village to raise a child. So build a village and work together to lessen everyone's load. No shame in asking for help, especially when you can return the favour down the road. Teach your kids and partner to help; make them part of the solution, not the problem.
Don't be a Mummy Martyr
Pity the husband or partner who is trying to help around the house or change the baby's diaper with a wife criticizing every step of the way. Moms, stop it! Let your hubby do domestic things his own way. If it's not perfect, who cares? At least YOU'RE not doing it. And he is. Which is awesome.
Thanks to all the moms who handed their kids over to someone else for the night to hang out with me! It was great connecting with you. I'd love to know if anyone has actually put any of my suggestions into practice! Moms gotta stick together and share their expertise. And remember to take care of yourselves so you can take care of your family!
You can see the whole evening "Storified" here.
There's also a really insightful wrap up of the evening on UrbanInfant.ca which I thoroughly enjoyed :)
Finally, thanks to Sheri Landry from This Bird's Day for her awesome pre-event interview with me. 
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