Netflix binges. Golf tournaments. Softball games. Cleaning closets. Reading. Extra screen time. Falling down the Twitter rabbit hole. Way too many frozen pizzas. Late nights on the deck.
As I try to blog this month I am quickly halted by writer’s block over and over. It doesn’t matter where I try to sit, where I try to think, there just doesn’t seem to be anything coming to me. In the past week between each new sunrise and the sunset of day, I had been searching for that topic, that connection to a new blog, to no avail. I just keep trying to find what I wanted to share about our summer days.
Supporting My Kids in Sports
Like many days of this summer, I am walking around the golf course following our son. I watched every drive, iron shot, chip or putt. I also watched every calculated play, the high fives, the fist pumps, the moment of frustration, the moments of failure and finally the hand shakes.
I walked off the course telling our son, Zephyr, how proud I was of him as he finished his round with a par. This par followed many double bogeys. We talked about the awesome 40-foot putt that he drained for a birdie. We discussed how to improve on all the failed shots. I told him how impressive it was watching his group problem solve and discuss rules. On this summer day, I needed to be a golf mom.
Yesterday, I was the mom who took our daughter to the softball fields to take grounders and practice hitting off of the tee. In that time frame, we discussed growth mindset—not every play is going to be perfect and there is always another opportunity to get better. We discussed letting go of the fear of failure. We discussed positive self talk. On this day, I needed to be a softball mom.
Making Dinner for My Family
Today, I needed to buy groceries. Summer grocery shopping usually means at least one of our children goes along with me (during the school year, it’s just me). Zephyr came along today, and he is my healthy grocery shopper. He looks for the best fruits and vegetables. He contemplates which sliced cheese we need to purchase. As we walked the aisles having conversations about what he wanted to try to bake or what we needed in our cupboards, I saw our son change from my little one to my teenager. Today, I needed to be a grocery shopper.
On this summer day, I was a mom making supper. It didn’t bother me that the bacon part of BLTs ended up tasting like cardboard (so I have heard). The bread was perfectly toasted, the tomatoes cut, the lettuce shredded, but I did fail miserably at microwaving bacon. Everyone still managed to eat the sandwiches. I may have failed at supper, but our daughter still requested “my go-to appetizer” of fiesta dip with chips. On this day, I needed to be the mom who failed at making supper.
My Role as a Mom
Tonight, I sat at the kitchen table helping my husband look through book orders and I listened to the quiet. Our oldest daughter is still in Texas, our middle daughter is at basketball camp and our son is downstairs. These past summer days, I have been struggling to find out what I wanted to share.
I realized that in between all of the normal things I get to do, there’s a reason for normal. There’s a reason that I get to have so many roles in my life. So next time in between the Netflix binges or the cleaning of the closets, I’m not going to look for the extraordinary. I’ll see what is ordinary because that’s where the lessons occur.
Shelly Mowinkel
K-12 & Teens
My husband and I have three kids. Our oldest is a freshman in high school, and our youngest is in second grade. Most days, I feel like we are a “tag-team chauffeuring” service, yet I wouldn’t have our life any other way. Not only I am a business/technology teacher at Milford, I am also the district technology integration specialist. I love teaching because I get the opportunity to make those around me better. My hope is that, through my blogging, I am able to inspire, encourage, and share with you my adventures of being a wife, mother, and professional.
