Wife, Mother, Career Woman...Does Superwoman really exist and keep her sanity intact?

This is a question I have asked myself for years. Can a woman try and fill the shoes of all of the rolls of wife, mother, and career woman and keep her sanity intact? Well, after years of hands-on research, my professional opinion is NO WAY!!!

I used to try and do it all. I worked a full time job, served time on the PTA, homeroom mom, soccer mom, drama mama, girlscout parent, band parent, sunday school teacher, youth group parent, slumber party hostess, birthday party deluxe hostess, cook, maid, fashion buyer, dog washer, home-improvement, super human being!! Whew!! Oh yes, somewhere in there I tried to find time to be a wife to my wonderful and patient husband!

I am not just speaking as someone who doesn't have a clue! I had a clue but, was it the right clue? Did I really think that I could "have it all" or so the world defined as such? I finally got a clue when I looked in the mirror one day and realized how much time was slipping away. I had lost valuable family time and valuable ME time! I decided it was time to adjust my priorities. Was having money for "stuff" really that important? Had I put having "stuff" above my own health and the happiness of me and my family????? I knew we had to downsize in a hurry or I would be dead by the age of 40! NO woman in her right mind, can do each of these jobs and do any of them good enough to be acceptable! I don't care what anyone says! Now, I'm not talking single moms here. I've been there and done that and lived to tell the tale! I admire ALL single moms who manage each of these positions. When you aren't given a choice, you do what you have to do. I just knew that I wasn't in that position any longer and I DID have a choice.

So here's how we did it! We packed up the big city life and opted for small town America. A slower pace of life in a lakeside community. (That REALLY helps with the stress level and I hightly recommend it!). We stopped paying high-dollar private school tuition, and opted for home school. We learned that places like GAP, Abercrombie, and Saks Fifth Avenue would no longer be a part of the budget. It wasn't necessary. Not like it really was before but, you do tend to get caught up in the trends when surrounded by it without even realizing you are being caught up! Who need the mall when you have WALMART in your hometown and that's about it on choices. We traded in our business suits for shorts and flip flops! I even go to the store in my pajama bottoms! I wouldn't have been caught dead like that in the city!!! Most days, it's no make up, our hair up in pony tails, t-shirts and shorts. It doesn't cost us $200 a week in gas because everything is a 5 minute drive or less here in our town. We can make a tank of gas last two weeks or more. We don't go on vacation anymore because we LIVE our vacation everyday! We eat healthier, we live healthier! This town has become our family and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Is trying to be Superwoman really that important? There are other ways to be super for your family. Nothing is more sacred than watching your child grow up before your eyes instead of having to be told by a daycare worker of their accomplishments. My advice: If you have the option of career or motherhood (notice I didn't say "and"), ALWAYS choose motherhood. You will be eternally grateful for having all of the moments instead of just some of the moments.

Our children NEED moms if they are going to survive in this world. A mom is a superhero!! Being called Mom is title enough. The "super" is implied!