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SALT LAKE CITY — Moms do it all. They also often feel like they must be perfect and be everything for everyone at the same time.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed and burned out. But moms can feel purpose and find balance.
School, church, work, soccer, laundry, dinner — at the end of the day, it may feel like you — the mom — got lost in the mix.
"As mothers, we sometimes lose our identity," said Tiffany Sowby, who has five children.
"We sometimes feel like our role is to be the martyr. We are the last to get shoes, we get the last piece of cake or are the last to eat dinner," she said.
We are the last to get shoes, we get the last piece of cake or are the last to eat dinner.
–Tiffany Sowby
Lacey Anderson has two preschoolers. She recently participated in a podcast on this very topic for powerofmoms.com.
"We have to figure out what helps us feel balanced," she said.
That could be running for one mom, sewing for another, time alone reading, or time outside with friends. You have to carve out that time for yourself.
Sowby was struck by a passage from Psalms to "be still." She tries to do it for about 15 minutes once a day if she can.
"I just try to sit on the couch or lay there, just trying to be still. That has made such a difference," she said.
Sowby said she also finds purpose in writing and public speaking through powerofmoms.com.
We all need an identity outside of motherhood.
–Tiffany Sowby
"We all need an identity outside of motherhood," she said.
Anderson said it may sound cliche, but don't sweat the small stuff.
"The key to balance is letting go," she said.
Balance your schedules and routines versus the needs of the moment. And don't compare to other moms and all the things it looks like they are doing.
"They probably have the same problems we do," Anderson said. "We need to wear blinders at times and focus on just what's right for us and our family," Sowby said.
These moms say above all, remember your worth. You don't have to be perfect. You can be, as Sowby wrote, "fabulously ordinary."
"We are great in our own way," she said.
And that, in and of itself, is enough.
