It’s OK if you Forget the Shoes

Because we’re starting a new year and everyone has personal goals in mind, this is the perfect time to talk about mindset and how important it is to helping shape everything around you.

I work extremely well with routines and staying busy. Consistency and discipline are both strong strengths of mine that translate well at home and at the office. Well, my office has been closed since December 23^rd for the Christmas and New Year holidays. That’s eight “work” days without a normal routine. Additionally, my daughter’s daycare was also closed. I’ll refer to my daughter as MK here. For context, MK is 2-years-old. They say children are the worst behaved for their mothers, and I think that’s the truest thing I’ve ever heard. HEAR ME OUT: I am a great mother and I LOVE MK so much, so don’t take what I am about to say the wrong way… I could not be a functioning human and stay home 24/7 with her. Those eight days home were challenging to say the least, but we did it. Needless to say, I WAS super happy that I was going back to work this morning and MK was going back to daycare.

Here is how my morning went:

Woke up, on time. Woohoo. Today is going to be a great day! I tell myself every morning that it’s going to be great because what you think will be reality.

MK woke up with me. I got her an “Elsa” yogurt (just a normal yogurt with Elsa’s face on the packaging) and turned on her current favorite tv show, Puppy Dog Pals.I went into my bathroom to get ready for work. I hear screaming from the living room. The dog tried to get MK’s yogurt. That’s normal. I stopped him. IT’S FINE.

I finish getting ready. We go upstairs to get MK ready for school.

Mid-diaper change, MK decides to potty on the carpet…I move her to a different location, finish changing her, put her clothes on, then go downstairs for the carpet cleaner. All cleaned now. IT’S FINE.

We’re rushing to get out the door on time. I still need to turn the tv off, make my travel coffee, grab my gym bag from my closet, grab my lunch from the fridge, put the dog in his crate, grab MK’s shoes. “Which shoes do you want to wear today?,” I asked her. “The black ones, Mommy.” I’m starting to feel frustrated because I feel rushed, but I think to myself- “BE POSITIVE”.

I think we have everything done and are ready to go. We get in the car and drive to daycare, pulling up to daycare at the same time as MK’s best friend, and we’re making GOOD time! I park and open the back seat to let MK out and I realize we forgot something from home. I’m panicking now.

WE FORGOT HER SHOES. She can’t go to daycare without shoes. Completely embarrassed, I asked her best friend’s mom if she had extra shoes in her car so I wouldn’t have to drive ALL the way back home to get them. She searched her entire car, but didn’t have any. I’m thinking now, “This is going to delay me SO much. How could I forget the shoes? We even talked about them.” I strap MK back in her car seat because we have to go back home. We drive 20 minutes to get back home and I run inside the house to grab the shoes. Okay. I’ve got the shoes!

Let’s go back to daycare. I’m driving and thinking about how things could be worse. I’m telling myself, “All is good now. We have what we need. We’re going back to daycare. You’ll be at work soon. Relax!”

Five minutes before we arrive back to daycare, MK starts coughing. She coughed so much that she got sick, A LOT, in my car, in her car seat. 

So, what do I do now? I have to go back home. I can’t take her to daycare like this. I call my husband (he works from 5am-2pm daily). I’ve had eight days off. Why is this happening to me on my first day back to work? My husband says he’ll  be able to leave work between 10-11am.

I finally made it to work. Despite the way my day started, I was able to shift my mindset to get to a solution and get all my work done with a positive attitude. The above scenario threatened to get me off track and ruin my entire day. I strongly believe what you think will become reality. While it can feel difficult in the moment, shifting your mindset from panic to positive can ultimately shift the course of your day, week, or if we’re going big, your entire upcoming new year!  YOU are in control. What small mindset shifts can you start telling yourself today that will help make all the small I-forgot-the-shoes instances become more manageable.

P.S: Shout out to all the stay-at-home moms and dads out there.  You guys are the real MVP’s 😊