I don’t know what to write about this week…. 

Not because there hasn’t been anything going on this week, quite the opposite. There has been too much. 

Ball games, LEAP testing, meetings, workshops, events, fundraisers, court hearings, appointments etc. On top of the everyday living – school, homework, laundry, cooking supper, dishes, nighttime routines, etc.  

Sadly, I cannot pinpoint a certain time during all these happenings that stands out enough to write a whole column about this week. And that is mainly because I have just been making it.  

That’s one thing I have learned about parenthood and really life in general, some days you are basically just surviving. 

Today, I had so many things on my to-do list. I went to bed thinking today would be the day that I get things back on track. I would get more sleep, wake up earlier, not have to rush the girls to school and get everything done at work, so that I would not have to do it after the girls go down for the night- thus the cycle continues.  

My phone died in the middle of the night because one of the girls unplugged the charger and didn’t plug back up. I woke up 20 minutes later than usual, we ran extra late to school, and I never even made it into the office or started working on any of the stuff I was supposed to get done during the daytime hours. I didn’t even attempt it honestly. This week has kicked my ass, so I decided to just do what I had to do to get through the rest of the day and try again tomorrow.  

And it is just like that some days.  

I used to feel guilty if I didn’t get my to-do list done. My self-worth revolved around how productive I was. It’s not like that anymore. I do what I can and that’s enough.  

I have had so many people come up to me in public and talk about how I seem to have my life together, that I am patient and that my kids are so well-behaved. Thank God this is the case more than it is not. The good days outweigh the bad, but on the WORST days, it is okay to just survive.  

Tonight, there will be pizza ordered, probably a ton of screen time and definitely a lot of wine.  

So, cheers to the fellow parents out there that are just surviving today. You’re doing great! 

(Paige Gurgainers is a mother of three girls, publisher of Bienville Parish Journal and Claiborne Parish Journal and a digital journalist for Webster Parish Journal.)