After years of listening to women of all ages and still hearing them today, most say at one point or another that in their married life they are parenting kids and husband.

Reflecting on that, makes me think of this; If  it were Eve’s custom to serve her husband his meals then that’s how she got him to eat the sinful fruit….or maybe Adam was so used to her telling him what to do, that he ate it.

I was raised to survive. Single parent home, no man to mow the lawn, wash the car, plant the garden and numerous other things. My Mom had poor health and I learned to take over at a young age modeling her behavior…..a controlling parent.

Now I can’t blame my raising, but it does help me identify the control habits I started at a young age. As I aged the habit of not respecting authority became another sinful fruit.

In my case I somewhat listened to my Mom, but always did things “my” way. I was the same in school and in my religious faith. I knew what God’s word said but I still walked my own path.

Now into married life those habits are hard to break, and yet sometimes needed. The absence of my spouse due to both his police and military career’s has often left me being the only parent around to call the shots. Most times he’s not even available to discuss matters, or get direction. When he is home the role of leader gets turned of and on like a light switch. This takes a lot of recognition and knowledge of roles and hard work. Add  my already controlling nature to his mentally and physically exhausted state along with his couch potato habits and you get……Momma in charge! Which for me leads to Momma being physically and mentally exhausted, bitter, angry, and over weight. I take control and to keep going, my coping tool has been to over eat and eat for emotional reasons.

We Momma’s mean well, we just get lost and off track. A strong definition of roles is vital to the balance and flow of married/family life. It is vital for us LEO wives to be able to turn that “switch” off and on…..and leave it.

Can you do it? Can you turn that switch?