As May approaches, parents across the country start preparing for the whirlwind month that it brings. They jokingly refer to it as “Maycember” because it is full of school concerts, sports playoffs, capstone presentations, and more end year festivities. This super unofficial extra second December is making it impossible for parents to catch a break. It’s not one month on the calendar, it’s more like a slogging marathon. With two distinct perspectives from mothers Charlotte Shaff and Maru Acosta, the challenges and strategies of managing this chaotic time come to light.
Charlotte Shaff, the mother of two teen boys living in Phoenix, Arizona, sums up May as a marathon. Her sons are preparing for track and field nationals in Oregon next month. As summer classes start the beginning of June, she has known the pressure is building. Third, as of this time, in four years, my boys will be out of the house. So I’m trying to embrace the chaos. “Sort of,” she said, noting how quickly her own children’s childhoods passed by.
Maru Acosta is a public relations executive, entrepreneur, and mom who is raising the future. She is at home in Boca Raton, Florida with her two daughters, ages 6 and 4. Lucky for her, excitement can still take the front seat with her daughters being so young. This provides a whole new level of energy on top of their crazy month. So now, Acosta makes an effort to create nonnegotiable time for herself, and exercise has become an important coping strategy. “If I’m grounded, I can handle the chaos better,” she stated.
These two moms make a strong case for putting self-care first in the chaos that May brings. This last one is indirectly inspired by Shaff, who makes it a priority to get at least one massage or facial per month. I allow myself the luxury of not going to all non-priority events,” she told us. She urged that making her own well-being a priority helps her just roll with the chaos better.
Delegation is the other key strategy that Acosta gives the lion’s share of the credit to for bringing her stress levels way down. “Delegating has been a game-changer, whether that’s leaning on other parents or bringing in freelance help at work. You can’t do May alone,” she explained. By passing off some of the responsibility to other colleagues, she’s taking a bit of the weight off that makes this busy season so overwhelming.
Open communication between partners is key in everyone sharing family responsibilities too. Shaff explained that her husband takes over breakfast and homework responsibilities. This schedule allows her to concentrate on other work without getting bogged down. “We have a shared calendar, so someone’s always got eyes on what’s next,” she added, highlighting how organized planning can ease the chaos.
As perfect as they strived to be, neither of these moms can claim perfection in this strenuous 31-day period. Acosta acknowledged that she too has navigated through mom guilt and made peace with not attending certain events. “Being a mom is the most important thing to me, always has been,” she said. That said, she’s aware that the realities of job duties often have the upper hand. “There are days that my job requires what’s on my plate, and I’m okay with that some days,” she said.
The new Scary Mommy blog post about “Maycember” went viral on social media. It gained more than 22,000 likes and over 26,000 shares as well, just on Instagram! For many veteran parents, this busy May is an all too familiar rite of passage. This recent online engagement is a perfect example of that increasing awareness.
