Our Five Ring Circus: Step Away & Live in the Now

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Step Away & Live in the Now

Most days, I'm on the go from the moment I wake up until the moment my last kid is tucked in at night.  Then I just keep going until the wee hours of the morning. After a few hours of sleep, I get up and repeat!

Even if I had the time, it is so hard for me to just sit still, relax, and shut off my mind. I just can't justify doing that.  I can always come up with about a thousand other things I should be doing!

This fast-paced blog world isn't much different. It's so easy to feel like you are falling behind. Did I talk to enough people on Twitter today?  Did I share enough content on Facebook? Did I engage with enough people on Instagram? Did I read enough blogs? Did I produce a pin-worthy blog post? Did I pin enough content? Did I reply to comments and emails?  Did I spend enough time promoting my own posts? It really is like a job most days. And if you're not careful, blog life WILL consume you!

What I've learned over the years is that sometimes it's very healthy to step away for a day or two (or a few) and just say, ENOUGH!

In addition to raising four kids, maintaining a blog, and coordinating the schedules for my kids last week, I had two big volunteer projects to work on. I love blogging and I love my volunteer work, but by the end of the week, I was completely spent.  All I wanted to do was forget about everything but spending time with my family, but the weekend busyness took over. And I was CRANKY. Before I knew it, it was Monday.

That crankiness continued into this morning. Mondays are always incredibly busy, but this week, Liam didn't have his usual OT session or speech session. I had big plans to work on blog projects, but by 10:30 AM, I gave up.  I shut my laptop, hid my cell phone, and decided to enjoy the sunny, 80 degree day with my kids!

Liam and I went to the store to buy unhealthy prepared food (I'm keeping it real here), we picked Lily up from school, and we headed to the local park for a picnic! I left my phone in the car, snapped a few pictures of my kids, then chased them around until they slowed down. (If I'm going to be honest, it was until *I* slowed down.  Where do they get their energy and can I have some?!?)

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After a few hours in the hot sun, Lily and Liam were tired! We gathered up our stuff and headed back home. My horrible mood was magically cured, Liam quickly fell asleep in the car, and Lily fell asleep right after we got home. 

With two kids sleeping, I could accomplish SO much.  Only...I didn't.  For once, I allowed myself to just sit down and enjoy the silence.

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The silence was short-lived, because soon, Dylan and Lexie arrived home from school!  And once again, I pushed everything I had to do aside, and just spent time with them in the backyard until Grant got home from work! (And my goodness, does our swingset need stained, or what? Let me just add that project to our mile-long To Do list!)

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After dinner and Family Movie Night, I dropped off Lily and Liam off for a sleepover (I'm going on a field trip with Dylan tomorrow), then came home and spent the night hanging out with my husband. No chores (outside of the norm), no blog work, no commitments.  And tonight, when I returned to my computer, I was actually looking forward to going through pictures and writing!

I never allow myself time to relax, and the stress of blogging and volunteer work and maintaining all these schedules can really get to me. Taking time for ME today and just spending time with my family was so refreshing! It was EXACTLY what I needed to do, and it's exactly what I need to do more often!

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How do you make time for yourself and how do you banish the guilt when you do?

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9 comments:

  1. Yes!! I needed to walk away for a few days to do some thinking over the weekend and it felt so good. So glad you enjoyed that time with your family!

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  2. I've always wondered how you managed to accomplish all the things you do...I was beginning to think you had magic powers or something! Good for you for refueling yourself and stepping away from the to do list! I've decided that list never ends, it just continues to grow forever around here. I have to separate in NEED to do and WANT to do...which do you think get pushed to the end of the line??

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  3. Such a good reminder. Every now & then stepping away is needed.it always feels so refreshing to come back! Glad you enjoyed the time! Have fun on the field trip!

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  4. Good for you! I'm glad you had a great day with the kids.

    I unplugged over the weekend too!

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  5. Yay for a break! We all need to step back every now and again. Looks like you had some wonderful family time. Love all of these photos! Your kids always look so happy!

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  6. I am the EXACT same way! I can't sit still. I always feel like there's something I should be doing or could be doing. And this past weekend, I finally took a step back... I was so over the whole blogging thing because of what happened to Jess so I didn't think about blog content or taking pictures (with the exception of Jacob's party) or doing any of that this past weekend. And you know what? It was amazing and relaxing and wonderful!

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  7. I don't stress about blogging too much to be honest. That being said I don't get to post daily, but I've learned that's okay. I've also learned to turn my phone in when I've been on it too long or especially in the evenings and the hubby is home and kids are in bed. We used to find ourselves buried in our phones and not engaging in one another and that wasn't healthy. I see it as you find what works kind of thing and roll with it. None of us are perfect but we all try which isn't a bad thing either. ;)

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  8. Oh goodness this is such a great reminder. I can have SUCH a hard time letting go and unplugging sometimes. Thanks for sharing this. I need to read it once a week or so ;). P.S. That dress is SO cute!!!

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  9. Great post! It's nice to know I'm not the only one that feels this way! I love blogging, but it definitely has added some stress to my life that I didn't expect.

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