Why Some Days I'm Just Surviving, Not Thriving

The Instagram post showed a mom and her children baking together, everyone smiling and covered in flour. "Making memories!" the caption read. Meanwhile, I was serving cereal for dinner again while my kids watched their third episode of cartoons because I was too exhausted to do anything more creative. I felt like I was failing at this whole parenting thing, until I realized that some days, survival is enough—and that's perfectly okay.

The Pressure to Always Be "On"

Social media and parenting culture create pressure to make every moment magical, educational, and Pinterest-worthy. We're supposed to be constantly creating memories, teaching lessons, and providing enriching experiences. But this expectation is unrealistic and exhausting—some days, keeping everyone fed, safe, and relatively calm is a genuine accomplishment.

What Survival Mode Actually Looks Like

Survival days might include more screen time than usual, simple meals, lowered expectations for activities, and parents doing the minimum necessary to keep the family functioning. This isn't neglect or bad parenting—it's realistic acknowledgment that we're human beings with limited energy and capacity, especially during difficult seasons of life.

Why Survival Days Serve Our Children

When children see us adapting to our capacity rather than pushing beyond our limits, they learn valuable lessons about self-care, realistic expectations, and flexibility. They observe that adults don't have to be perfect or constantly performing to be worthy of love. Sometimes the most important thing we can model is knowing when to rest and when to push through.

The Ebb and Flow of Parenting Seasons

Parenting isn't meant to be a constant high-energy performance. Like everything in life, it has seasons and rhythms. Sometimes we have energy for elaborate activities and deep conversations; sometimes we're just trying to get through the day with everyone intact. Both are necessary and valuable parts of the parenting journey.

Redefining Success

Success in parenting isn't about constant enrichment activities or never-ending patience. Sometimes success looks like everyone being fed, feeling loved, and making it to bedtime peacefully. These quiet, unglamorous moments of simply being together are just as important as the Instagram-worthy adventures.

Some days you're just surviving, and that's not just okay—it's necessary. Your children don't need you to be constantly amazing; they need you to be consistently present and loving, even when you're tired. The ordinary, imperfect moments of simply being together are often the ones they'll remember most fondly.

Embrace the reality of parenting seasons in "Unexpected Gifts of Parenting"—where survival is celebrated alongside thriving.