More than a week with no fabulous musings from the mind of Mindy? How doth one survive?
Seriously, this is my life: Get up (not as early as I need to). Do some household chores (not as many as I need to). Have breakfast with the kids and David & get ready. Have devotional with the kids & David. Start school with the kids. Do various school stuff until early/mid-afternoon. Do more chores or some work (photography stuff) on the computer. Have dinner with family. Get kids in bed. Prep homeschool for the next day/do chores/study scriptures with David. Go to bed. Repeat.
I am enjoying most everything we are doing, but the routine really wears me down. I have never been one who enjoys a routine, so I am trying to come up with things that will add a bit of fun variety to the days and weeks. Theoretically, I understand that routines are good and productive, but I sometimes can't wrap my heart around one. Oh well! Tomorrow (if the weather cooperates) we are going to start off our homeschool day with a walk on the river trail. Should be nice.
I think the other part of the routine that gets to me presently is that no matter how nice the routine is, babies haven't read the memo! I'm not a fan of trying to schedule babies exactly with naps and feedings, so I guess it's my own choice, but it is hard to try and get things done with an adorable little ball of chaos around. Who knows when he will feel sleepy, cranky, be teething, have an "explod-o-poo" diaper, stay up really late (and causing you to sleep in the next morning), get sick, etcetera etcetera. But such is life. And it's good. I need to cultivate the art of finding happiness and joy during the busy, full days as well as on the more relaxed days. Just now, as I was typing that, I realized my shoulders were all hunched up. Do all moms feel that "burden" on their shoulders all the time, that makes you feel like there is something else to do and makes it so hard to "enjoy the now" for more than five minutes? Is there a solution? Would love to hear your thoughts on this....
2 comments:
I can't really speak to the Mom experience, other than from memories of my own mom at that point in life (lots o little ones at home).... But, i remember her being TIRED a LOT, so I think your probably right on par ;-)
I CAN speak to long days and slightly soul sucking routine...remember, I work for the government! So, two thoughts:
1) Give your self permission to take a "vacation day" once in a while. Ship the kids off for a couple of hours and, instead of catching up on chores and doing all the "shoulds", just commit to a day of doing things that make you happy and help you relax (like sitting on the couch and stairing into space or playing the piano). The key is to not think about what you should do and just be...
2)I once had a roommate who wrote in her journal religiously. Every day, she started her entry with "I am grateful for..." and then filled in the blank. Once she just sat and read a bunch to me (cool and fun to hear the random happiness of it) I'm not so great at follwoing the example, but its kind of fun to keep a running list that you can review when you feel overwhelmed. I did it for a week or two once a few years back and it was amazing how much it lifted my spirits.
last but not least, just remember that you are loved and that there are a lot of people out there who just think your fantastic! You do SO MUCH for our family...I know you've got some really lucky kids over there!!!
Thanks Jenn. Your words were a real spirits-lifter when I read them yesterday. And I think your advice is sound. I do try to remember to be grateful for the big and little things....I think I will make a more concerted effort in this. And I think your idea of having a true "day off" is a great one. Sounds wonderful!
Love you!
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