So this last weekend my husband was gone for a family wedding. The last time he left for over a week I decided to pack up and take the kids on an adventure of our own in the steaming hot deserts of Arizona.
This time I thought staying home might be perfect.
And it sort-of was.
My great friend Yolanda challenged me to write a post while he was gone. And I did...in my head :)
Monday morning rolled around with a weekended gone and the husband back home and no blog post posted...but in my defense I
did have it written and pictures ready, it just wasn't shared yet. Mostly because my weekend was crammed with everything on my to do list.
I find that lately, in trying to give myself 100 percent in so many different areas of my life, I end up only giving 80 percent to all areas and I am burnt out and stressed on top of it. Not to mention the guilt and self loathing for not being perfect in my multi-tasking.
For instance, I fully believe that a clean house, children entertained, fresh homemade food always prepared, workout done, favorite book with coffee enjoyed, several thousand words for my book written each night, husband time, pamper time, devotion time, and work time are all very reasonable things that I should be able to give my full effort towards daily.
So when I end the day with a thrown together meal, a sink full of dishes, kids and mom in a melt down, no words written for my book because I am exhausted so I ditch the workout, ditch the reading time, ditch the coffee and fall asleep mid-conversation with the husband...needles to say I wake up guilty and swearing to do better only to end
that day in a frustratingly similar way.
It feels like an endless cycle.
So, the weekend I found myself husbandless, I decided on one thing. I would fill my weekend with all those hobbies and must do's, but I would only give them half as much as I expected from myself. And honestly....it worked out amazingly!
I worked out some, drank some coffee, read a few chapters, wrote a few chapters, watched a chick flick, built tents with the kids, baked with the kids, visited a friend, ignored the dishes but picked up the living room, crafted with the kids, painted, slept....my list really could go on. And since I did not expect 100 % from myself in ALL of the areas, I had no guilt towards the less-than-perfect me. I highly suggest it for anyone struggling with a full plate! There is something very relaxing about just going with the flow and letting go of our ideas of how we
should be, and just be. Enjoying the small things with no expectations is a very freeing thing.
