The Struggle is Real – Show and Tell Tuesday
It’s Show and Tell Tuesday with Andrea at Momfessionals and I feel like the prompt this week could not have come at a more appropriate time. The struggle is real for me in so many areas right now! Is it summer? Is it the season I’m in? Is it my hormones? I’m thinking it’s the perfect storm. Ha!
The Struggle is Real…..
Finding common ground and respect between my teen and me. Believe me, I know this is all perfectly normal and he is just working on pushing boundaries and figuring out who he is and blah, blah, blah, all as far away from me as possible. I’m just incredibly over it all right now! If he gets any freaking smarter I think one of us is going to need to move out!
Oh summer I do love you so but I do believe the normal struggle of daily homework and school activities has been replaced with some insane level of activities at hours I’m suppose to be at my job! I’m definitely feeling like an underpaid Uber at the moment.
Does anyone else struggle with an empty tank? No, this is not a metaphor for feeling empty but really the gas tank being perpetually empty! Y’all, I HATE filling my car up with gas and drive it down to the last mile every single time.
Aging gracefully…..not so much. I really believed it when I said things to myself like “those laugh lines are from all the great memories you made” when I was 28! Now that the lines are here to stay I’m not feeling it. Believe me I have access to lots of beauty products but the struggle to take the time to use them all…Holy Hell! It’s like an hour long process if I go through all the steps for my face, my neck my skin, my teeth. Not to mention some strange bout of adult acne that seems to be creeping in.
As if the aging isn’t enough, the peri-menopause is the bomb! I just thought I could be psycho when I was young and had PMS but my younger self has NOTHING on the crazy hooker I become for the few days before a cycle. The bad part is there is no rhyme or reason to the cycle which means it’s a constant struggle to determine if I’m just feeling like being a bitch or if my hormones are raging out of control.
And speaking of things out of control, I’ve never worked so hard in my entire life to stay the same. Yes, I’m in fairly good health and very thankful for that but good night could I just get a teeny bit of assistance with the metabolism. Exercising makes me feel awesome and strong and that is why I do it because it really doesn’t make the biggest impact. Clean eating is the only thing that seems to work and the struggle to stay on top and not get lazy is real. Add in the teenager and cutting alcohol completely out of my diet is out of the question!
Is there such a thing as adult ADD because if so I’m fairly confident I have it. There are days when I’m sure nothing productive has been done but I sure have been busy. In a past life I was organized and on top of EVERYTHING. I currently feel like I start one thing, the phone rings, I move to something else, I have to pee, something pops into my mind in the bathroom, back at the desk and I’ve already forgotten because I saw a new email….and so on and so on. Don’t worry, I get it all mostly done but the struggle to stay on task has definitely been R-E-A-L for me lately.
Blogging! Yes, the blogging struggle has been VERY real lately. I have so many ideas in my mind and just haven’t been able to compile them on paper to make any sort of sense. Creating content to share in this space is important but creating content in this space that reaches others and has a bigger impact is really what my goal is. I want to inspire other people to be better people! It seems so easy in my mind but oh the struggle!
Whew…lots of struggling going on over here for a Tuesday!
What struggle is here for you?
Also Linking with||Tuesday Talk with a few of my favorites ladies!
Oh my word, teenagers!!! I have a 16,14 and 11 year old, can you say CRAZY???!!!! I totally get you on that one, and the metabolism and bitchiness part, lol!!! Loved this!
Cara it use to bother me when they wouldn’t talk to me…now some days I’m just praying they keep their mouth shut to prevent the sassiness from escaping! I just want to bottle up my 11 year old because she is still so sweet right now. It is definitely just a passing phase but goodness I’m over it right now! And you have TWO at one time…bless you! Have a super day Cara!
I’m laughing at loud at your memes! I’m still few years away from the dreaded teenager years but I’m pretty sure that I’ll either need a lot of wine or therapy during that time. And blogging is for sure a major struggle.
It seems to be a common theme right now….every blogger I know seems to be feeling the pinch on the blogging front!
I am terrible at always letting the gas light go on. Really trying to get better at that!!!
I seriously let it run to zero EVERY SINGLE time
I know the day of X wanting nothing to do with me will be here way too soon, but being able to go to the bathroom by myself would be nice right now 😉
The exercising, the anti-aging products, and blogging I am with you on! UGH! Why it is so hard to just stay the same?!?!
KILLING ME Vanessa! Right now my teen is either sweet as pie or I want to choke him off. My biggest advice is to not take it personal. It really is just part of the process…but OMG…so hard.
Tracking. Every damn day. Yes I do weight watchers and with all the activities we have going on in the spring and summer, it has been SUCH A STRUGGLE to track. But i do it because…..Weight Watchers works! I am down 40 lbs since Jan 6 and couldn’t be happier. So now I will struggle with KEEPING it off. The struggle is real! Happy Tuesday! I am off to walk 5 miles and get in my steps!!
Accountability…..when we have trouble just being accountable to ourselves we have to track our food!! You have been an inspiration friend!
Thanks Shelly!! The time would have passed anyway……and I am so happy I took that step in January!
Holy crap! You nailed it my friend!!!!! For years my ringtone for Katie has been the “quacking duck” and it’s because of that very saying…LOL Menopause, hormones and slowing metabolism…WHAT THE HECK??? Oh the commentary I could add on this subject but I’m just going to say DITTO!! As for blogging, I do love it but somedays (a lot of days) I wonder what on Earth do I have to say??? I’ll think of things and be in the middle of something so I can’t jot it down and then I’m coming up empty. You always seem to find useful, meaningful, helpful, insightful topics. OH…and ADD. I’m wearing the crown and sash for that. Katie even rags me about it. (is that still a thing? Ragging someone😂) We’ll be working out and as soon as I finish an exercise I run to do something…she’s constantly saying, “stay focused, don’t get off task”. Yeah, ok. Try living in my brain for 30 seconds and see if you don’t fall off the hamster wheel.😜 Love your struggles!!!
LOL….that’s my Carly! At Spring Break I wanted to do some purging and organizing. She made me make a list by room and then she “helped” me and if I ventured off course at all she was on my ass. 🙂 God knew what he was doing giving her to me last!
I sent a picture of the bathroom meme to my 16 year old, I love it! I am feeling the same struggles, but don’t worry-we got this!!!
We ABSOLUTELY do!
Girl, I LOVE this post. And that first meme… OMG. I’m dying. I remember when my mom started going through menopause… she said that it is NO JOKE. She said that she felt like a crazy woman all the time. And yes about blogging!!!! I have a billion ideas, but ZERO time these days and lately my content has been suffering from it. As for aging gracefully, girl, you are absolutely stunning. I can only pray that I look half as good as you do when I’m in my 40s. And I really and truly mean that.
You, my friend, just made my entire week! What a sweet thing to say!
I recently heard someone crack a joke about laugh lines. They said “It’s like your getting punished for joy!” Not fair life, it’s just NOT fair.
Blah…I know I have issues in this area. There are some people who just seem so “okay” with it all and I’m like….I”M NOT OKAY with looking old! haha
I can’t even think of my kids being teenagers.. That scares me so much.. I am struggling with my 3 year old finding common ground with her and it is tough letting her know who the adult is… Thanks for this 🙂
My advice Chelsea….pick you battles!! Some are worth more than others in the long run! Sanity > matching clothes lol.
I think every single mom has a form of adult ADD. Seriously. I am all over the place but mostly because we have so much going on and I’m trying to juggle it all without dropping something.
I’m sure that is true Stephanie….I just feel like I really use to be better at it!!
I sometimes feel like my 9 year old is really a 15 year old girl with all the eye rolls I’ve been getting lately. And YeS to adult ADHD…I’m so distracted all the time
Girl…I seriously am like WTH are you doing Shelly?? I’m all over the damn place and have to consciously remind myself to stay with the task at hand!!
Yes to all of these. I love how you summed up the teen years with “blah blah blah!” Sometimes that’s about how it feels. I just saw this on FB and I was shaking my head the whole time I read it: http://herviewfromhome.com/this-stage-of-life-its-hard-too/
I just read that this week too!! I could have written every word.
From one mid-forties peri-menopausal wife and mother of a tween to another: just keep drinking the vodka spiked kool-aid and smile!
Lol…definitely sticking with the vodka…it’s the only drink that doesn’t make me feel bloated!!
Dying over the bathroom meme. Like what could these children possibly need for 30 seconds without me!? The teenage years scare me, but since my husband and I are secondary teachers, I feel like that may hopefully become more of our groove because little kids kind of drive us nuts. Thank heavens for kindergarten teachers-
that’s my own personal hell! Wouldn’t it be nice if the kids came with instruction manuals (or at least a mute button!?)
Now it’s my dog girl….he seriously will lay right at the door waiting for me and sometimes stick his little paw under. haha
Thank you Shelly, I relate to just about EVERYTHING you wrote here. Hell yes, the struggle is real, you are right on with the exercise, the metabolism, the perimenopause, etc., etc. I have started keeping all of my night time skin care products next to wear I watch TV at night. Then I can layer each on one while I’m on my laptop or watching tv. That has helped me to do it every night. It is so nice to hear I’m not the only one who feels like she’s falling apart at the seams, lol!
I just ADORE you!!!!!!
xo,
Kellyann
Muah! I adore you too…and I seriously wish I had “met” you already when I came to Orlando a year ago!! I can only imagine how much fun we could have. I suck at taking off my makeup and I know the nighttime stuff is what I need to be diligent about. Blah!
Oh my goodness. “That hooker” has me laughing SO hard. The teenage years FREAK me out. My daughter is already giving me the side-eye and eye rolls and throwing me shade. The gas gauge. I hate filling up my gas tank. My husband usually does for me because I will wait until the last possible second as well and then I am a stressed out mess wondering if I am going to make it to the gas station. I loved this post!
It’s my trademark Jenna! I don’t know why I say it but I use it way too liberally. Haha! I seriously hate filling my car up..it just seems like such a time waster. I’ve begged Keith to take over but so far I have not been so lucky!
I am pretty certain if you and I met IRL we would start talking and never stop. Everything you said in the post I nodded in agreement except ONE thing! I freak out if my gas gage is under a quarter tank. Enjoy your weekend at home. We were going to head to MI for some baseball but just decided to stay home this weekend.
Well…obviously there would be ALOT of baseball talk first! Wasn’t it nice to just decide to stay home for once? I would like to say I feel guilty but goodness….I just cannot be every where every weekend.