My friend’s Mum says: Praise yourself girl, don’t wait for others to do it.
So there you go my friend, this blog post is going to be a massive praise of moi. This is because I can do a few things that deserve to be acknowledged. Brace yourself, you are in for a big treat. Well, sort of.
I praise myself for having just two hands but using them to the limits. Because for instance… I can grab four mugs with my left hand while leaving the bedroom and then while walking down the stairs (and not stopping), I can simultaneously grab two baskets filled with laundry with my right hand. It requires some help from my chin and my right armpit but come on, ain’t that marvellous?
I can calmly fasten the seat belts on our babba’s new car seat. Yes, there are times when I do it slowly, without getting annoyed and whinging that it’s too tight/too floppy/doesn’t hold together/doesn’t push in. And on those occasions I smile, I smile my best smile. Not always, of course, I’m not a unicorn, for Pete’s sake.
I praise myself for cooking food. In the world of temptation coming from all the ready meals that are available and within reach... I cook, like a good old-fashioned (and a bit stubborn) Polish mama. I even make those fancy puddings from time to time, like avocado chocolate mousse and stuff - oh, brave me and poor recipients. The downside of all this? Well, ask my sweet husband and the mountains of washing up that this boy must face.
I praise myself for surviving the 9th month of my pregnancy. Boy, was it rough! There was literally no position in which I would be even remotely comfortable, there was no meal without that mean heartburn, no day without a mackerel (it smells rank apparently) and no evening without those awful questions stuck in my throat “what if…?”. Plus I underestimated the bushiness that tomatoes can fill the greenhouse with - I lost control over this situation and a jungle was born. And then Zosia was born too. It was so worth it, I survived!
I praise myself for being determined with learning English. I pushed through that stinky period of time when I met Jamie and wished to poetically talk about love to him. That’s when I realised that simple communication is good, but only when you go on a holiday. I felt like in Polish I could use words with a precision of a sharp blade, while in English the knife was blunt and bent and basically didn’t exists at all, I was holding a piece of stick. I pushed through and today I am happy to inform you that yes, indeed I can talk about love, poetically.
I praise myself for keeping up with Polish celebrities. No more explanation needed, forget you read that.
I praise myself for not forgetting to take the washing out to dry within 3 days after it’s been washed. In our household I call it an achievement, seriously. Because think about it... the washing machine is in the utility so definitely not in my face (first step to being completely forgotten - tick!), the washing machine doesn’t shout my name to let me know it’s done its job, the washing machine doesn’t do anything to help me remember. So you see, I must depend on my own memory and my own already challenged brain. No devices, no gadgets, just pure thinking. Impressive!
Now that I have finished writing this at the same time I realised this is not so special really, is it?
I bet each and every one of the women who are reading this right now, have done at least one of those things listed above. Probably you are even doing it every day because we, women are pretty good at things, strictly speaking. But do you, my sweetness, praise yourself, or do you wait for others to do it? And maybe they never do it and you end up doing this wonderful stuff without acknowledging?
I urge you girl, praise yourself and say it out loud - yes, I did do three loads of washing today, yes I did not go crazy after a whole day on the playground, yes, I can cook a soft-boiled egg.
Is it possible that you take care of your self-esteem before you let others start their work on it? Is it possible that you stop even just once during the busy day and give yourself a pat on the back? Is there a chance that you can rid your days of people who make you feel like you aren’t enough?
And praise yourself girl, don’t wait for others to do it.