By Michelle Tate 
On a good day, I take a shower, slip into a pair of jeans fresh out of the dryer. My hair will be dried with a round brush, and straightened with a flat iron. My make-up will be intact and I may even remember some perfume. But on most days, my hair is three days post shower and tied up on the top of my head in a messy knot. Leggings are my standard go-to and people ask me why I got so fancy if I manage to slap some mascara on or cover the bags under my eyes.
But there’s a story behind this messy bun of mine. One that’s ever-changing from one day to the next, but always has a common thread. Mom life has me stretched thin. I choose so many things before tackling my own head of hair. Sometimes I choose an extra 10 minutes of sleep. Sometimes I didn’t get much sleep at all. But the typical reason behind my messy bun is that life is chaotic and my hair has seen so much life and love from the top of my head.
So if my messy bun could talk, it would tell you that . . .
I’ve slept three hours in the last 24 because rocking a sick baby is more important to me than sleep.
I’ve changed out of a pair of sweat pants and into a comfy pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt (without a shower, and definitely without entering a yoga studio).
By 9 a.m., I have done three loads of laundry, changed four diapers, packed four lunches, made breakfast for five, and got three kids dressed and out the door in time for school, although I have yet to brush my teeth.
Potty training is my absolute least favorite part of motherhood.
I have swept under the kitchen table six times in 12 hours.
My home was filled with 10 children from our neighborhood requesting snacks after school.
My husband is traveling and I’m sleep training our 4-month-old. Which means, I haven’t slept a wink in days.
A 4 a.m. nosebleed required a new set of sheets, new clothes and a bath for my 3-year-old.
A wrestling match broke out in my living room resulting in a head injury on the fireplace, and a rushed visit to the ER.
Homework needs to be done and karate needs to be practiced before the upcoming tournament.
I’ve emptied the dishwasher and filled it again.
Teacher appreciation week is here and I signed up to bring a covered dish . . . today . . . by 10 a.m. (Why didn’t I sign up for the napkins?)
My bestie is sick and I’ve insisted her kids come to my house today so she can get some rest.
I’m making a meal for the friend who had a baby last week.
I’m sending thank you notes from the birthday party last month, and invitations out for the party that’s three weeks away.
The tooth fairy needed to make a visit, and I had to stay up long enough to spread the fairy dust.
The lunch account is running low at school and a check needed to be written and sent in the Wednesday folder.
Clothes have been outgrown and toes are touching the ends of shoes.
Underneath this messy bun is a head filled with schedules and preferences and to-do lists and worries. It’s sorting letters from the school nurse and PTA requests and the deadline for camp sign ups. Buttons needs to be sewn on pants and arms need to be reattached to a favorite stuffed animal before nap time. Sheets need to be washed from a midnight accident, and the Superman cape needs to be pack in the backpack for “S” week at preschool.
There’s so much to be done, so much loving and laughing and memories being made that sometimes a bun is all I can manage.
And I’ve honestly never loved any hairstyle more.
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