Becoming the Happiest Mom: Love Your Love Life

Congratulations, we made it to the final chapter of the Happiest Mom! Thanks to all my friends, old and new, that have been following for the past 10 days.  I started this journey because I discovered that I had not read a book, just for fun, in at least a year, and wanted to jump start my love of reading and writing. Mission accomplished! I carved out the time to read a chapter every day and I blogged about it every day, even though quite a few of the blog posts were posted close to midnight. Before I started this project, I would get the kids to bed between 8 and 9p.m. and I would either fall asleep with them or shortly thereafter; I could never find that second wind to stay up and accomplish a few things before bedtime. I discovered that having a clear goal is what motivates me.

Are you loving your love life? If not, this is the chapter for you. Meagan talks about the challenges of raising young kids and the impact on her marriage. It is a sweet story with a happy ending.  Before I had
kids, I wondered why so many couples had marital discord during the wife's pregnancy and divorced during those first 5 years of child-rearing. From the outside looking in, it is the happiest of times; in reality, it is a mix bag of amazing highs (seeing your baby for the first time) and incredible lows (2 hours of sleep in 3 days). Can anyone relate to never going to the bathroom alone or getting really angry when you are up at 3a.m and your spouse is peacefully snoring? Here are some advice from the Happiest Mom that I find to be very helpful.

• It is important for spouses to recognize what it takes to keep the house running, appreciate one another's contributions and make an effort towards pulling your weight.
• Don't expect your spouse to read your mind, be direct with your needs- no hinting, sighing, or beating around the bush.
• Your spouse cannot be everything to you. Create a network and rely on others.
• Stay connected - move your love life from the bottom of your to-do list.
• When you are happy and have a well-rounded life, you can actually enjoy your kids.

Thanks to Meagan Francis and the contributors to the Happiest Mom for an optimistic but realistic view of motherhood. It was an enlightening and enjoyable journey. I look forward to more words of wisdom from the Happiest Mom Blog.