One thing has been made very clear to me over the years, and that is that I cannot do this mothering thing on my own. I absolutely, positively cannot do this by myself. I need help. And I mean some big help. My husband? Invaluable. But I'm talking about more help than just one finite person can give.

I'm talking about the kind of help that makes mountains and tears them down, fills oceans and floods the earth, makes light out of nothing, creates the whole world in just six days and still has time to rest! (Now you know that had to be God if He did all that and still had time to rest!) The way I see it, if God can create everything out of nothing, He can help me be a good mother. He gave me my children, He knows what I am and am not capable of. He knows I need to rely on Him. The only problem with that arrangement is that I never seem to rely on Him enough.

I have lost count of the number of times I've asked other mothers the question, "How do I do this?" A more direct version of that is, "Help! What do I do now?" The answer varies with each time I ask it.

• Do more
• Do less
• Do it differently..
• Do it the same..
• Have a schedule..
• Don't have a schedule..
• Read this book..
• Read that book..
• Be quiet..
• Talk more..
• Play with them more..
• Discipline them more.

On and on it goes. But, I have great news! After much study, spending countless hours in research via conversation, books, and online resources, I have come up with the answer to the question that we as women--or at least me as myself--continue to ask: "What do I do?"

The answer is a resounding:
I don't know.

I tricked you, didn't I? That was mean. I'm sorry.

Seriously though, I think the answer is that parenting is a long process which doesn't necessarily get easier over time, it just gets different. What was hard for a mother of infants is a little easier by the time the infants are toddlers. When those toddlers become teenagers, the problems of a three year old are not nearly as daunting as those of a thirteen year old. And so it goes. At the present moment, I feel stuck and overwhelmed and completely inept. However, I said the same thing last year and the year before and the year before (and at that point the baby wasn't even born yet!). Each time, the moment passed. I grew up. I got over it. The child grew.

Things change. The only thing I sometimes wish would change more is me. My husband asked me one day last spring, "Would you like to take a vacation?" That's a great question! One of the best, I think. Like any sane, thinking (or even half-way thinking) individual, I said, "Sure!" "Where to?" he asked. Wow. Talk about being handed the world! Of course, he expected me to stay within reason. I'd love to go to Scotland and revisit the castles and heather hills that I've seen once before, but that doesn't quite fit into our budget right now. I thought and thought, tracing over the various possibilities in my mind. I kept coming back to the same answer. Not a very eloquent one, but, desiring to be ever honest and truthful, I spoke my mind. "I don't care where we go, as long as I don't have to take myself along." He looked at me like I'd lost my mind, which I probably have. "The vacation I really need is a vacation from myself!" He laughed. You can relate though, can't you? Yes, indeed, mothering is a blessing as well as a challenge. The greatest challenge? Dealing with this mother, not these children!