As the mother of five kids, I am pretty good at making do.  We burn through food at an alarming rate.  Clothes are too small before the season is over.  Stuff gets lost.  Things get broken.  Money is tight. All these things require a mother to think on her feet. I regard the last minute, holy crap, what do we now scenarios as personal challenges and they often result in some real feelings of accomplishment, this is after the panic wears off.

Picture day is always tomorrow.  It is never a week from now. Finding clothes that the child will agree to wear, having it fit, having it clean and being able to find it in the depths of the land of gross and forgotten things that are a child’s bedroom is quite an undertaking. Thankfully, they can wear whatever ridiculous pair of pants they want as bottom halves are not included in photographs.

Worse yet. Family picture day.  Now, everyone needs to have an acceptable wardrobe, “I care what my hair looks like” hair and they need to be feeling tolerant. That last thing can really be a sticking place.  I scrounge through everyone’s drawers and closets and I can usually pull off something half way decent. Then, if we could just get everyone to look at the camera and smile. Baby steps. At least our outfits are ok.

Making dinner, I am often forced to make do as one or more of the ingredients that I planned to use have disappeared.  No doubt, it has ended up half eaten under someone’s bed. This is the point at which I have to use the full extent of my culinary creativity. As long as I have cream of something and cheese, I can make it work.  And there’s always pancakes.  Lucky for them, my children know better than to complain about what is put in front of them.

This making do also occurs in this mom’s self beautification process. If I make it to church on Sunday morning by the time the service starts and I have brushed my hair AND put on deodorant, I am doing well.  Being low maintenance is a requirement when you have to get several other people presentable to get out the door. It is quite difficult, in my experience, to instill a sense of urgency in others.  I have discovered I am better off to start early and plan for no one else to be in a rush. We are never the picture of perfection sitting in a pew but we are there and it was surely an act of God that made that happen.

Although, it would be lovely to always have everything I need in every situation, money to pay for it, time to do it all perfectly, and complete cooperation, this is not reality – at least in my house.  I do think there is value in learning to deal with some of the last minute craziness that goes with life.  Hopefully, my kids will acquire some coping skills and be able to think outside the box when their lives throw them a curve ball. Life has many challenges that require us to break down or push through. Take pride in the little victories.