Tara Lynn: Living in the season of 75 percent

It seems I’m in the “unfinished” season of motherhood these days.

You know, where you start trying to clear off the table after breakfast and get halfway done when one kid needs help getting her shoes on and another one can’t figure out how to get both legs from being stuck in one pant leg while the dog is pawing at the baby gate to go potty.

You attend to each crisis and try to make the most of the remaining two minutes you have before heading out the door. Then, you hear a loud crash. The 1-year-old just knocked over [insert literally anything here] and it fell on [insert siblings’ names, the dog, or something breakable].

At this point, it’s time for the oldest to start virtual learning and get the others in the car for pre-school drop off (and apologize again for being five minutes late due to kids being on “toddler time.”) We run out the door with dirty dishes and pajamas all over the kitchen.

It’s like this all day long. The never finishing of things. Always starting, but never able to finish.

Starting a load of laundry. Forgetting to put the laundry in the dryer due to distraction No. 843. Starting an email and then abandoning it half-written because baby brother is crashing big sister’s virtual math lesson. Grab him and run up to put the clothes in the dryer. Run back downstairs when you smell the burning pizza in the oven you were excited to eat because you never actually got to eat your own breakfast.

But there is a small relief. Naptime for my little boy. Woo!

I can finally finish clearing breakfast from the table and start prepping lunch for my first grader (maybe I can eat something too!).

Next up, review her school work while she eats and get her logged back on for the afternoon.

I’ll deal with the lunch mess later. I need to finish that email so I head to my desk.

Enter the password. Pull up my email. Crying.

The 1-year-old is up. It’s only been 45 minutes since he went down for his nap.

And so on.

I’m sure there are some rockin’ moms out there who are doing all the things. Some of you are doing 100 percent of the things at not just 100 percent, but at 110 percent. I salute you. Not in a snarky “well aren’t you perfect” kind of way. A genuine salute.

I know there will be a time when I get back to the finishing of things. Finishing something other than my glass of wine at the end of the day.

Heck, maybe I can even finish a thought or a sentence without being asked for another snack!

For now, this is life. Starting something, getting almost to the finish line and then being interrupted when you still have about 25 percent of work left to tackle. This is life in the Season of 75 percent. My only advice if you’re in this season too: just go with.