Sometimes Survival is Success

Me: I just feel like we’re surviving at this point, nothing more.

Friend: Sometimes survival is success.

As pretty evident by the fact that I took a month break from posting anything, we are living in a hectic place right now.  Between traveling and remodeling our house, life has definitely gotten the better of me.  There’s something about wrangling 3 non-school aged kids while remodeling a home that has me spinning my wheels and searching for an anchor to my day.

I’m learning the hard way that when I don’t have a balanced view on the world, my kids become unbalanced, and the house of cards falls in a pile of tears, tantrums, and tortilla chips.  Whatever causes this state of “survival” for you, I would imagine that we’ve all been there.

To be fair, I’m not talking about true survival in a physical sense.  This is a “first world” concept of the term.  I have food; I have a roof over my head; I have a loving spouse and healthy children.  Instead of physical survival, I’m referring more to an emotional state of mind where my waking hours fly by without much structure beyond what is required of me.  Where every task and project feels like it will never be completed.  Where parenthood feels rote and uninspired.  My kids may be fed, but it’s not a meal that would resemble anything on the food pyramid.  I am blessed to spend the days with them as a stay-at-home parent, but our days are filled with compromises and errands instead of quality time exploring and enjoying each other.

It was in this place that I reached out to my friend.  I complained to her about these compromises in my life, and she gave me a new perspective.  By seeing that survival can be the goal, I was able to relax in my state of being.  This survival is not forever.  In fact, it could get much worse.  Instead, it is a season of life that will pass (and will most definitely return under a different set of circumstances).  My kids are being fed!  We are getting things done!  I am surviving!  Thanks to my friend, I am truly trying to embrace the thought that, sometimes, survival is success.  Sometimes, it’s okay to feed my children imbalanced meals.  Sometimes, it’s okay to compromise quality time with the need to complete an errand (and to view this as a version of quality time).  Sometimes, it’s okay to simply survive.