Hey there, friends! Thanks for stopping by even though my posting here has been way more sporadic than I planned for this year!
Even though I have spent a lot of time trying to build good balance in my life, give time to my family and my creative outlets and just plain mental health, I still get bowled head over heels by life sometimes.
This past month, it just felt like everything hit at once. Job requirements, fighting over policy changes, budget arguments, and on top of that, trying to slow down my travel schedule and spend some time working with my son on his pre-K requirements (they’re asking so much of him and he’s only 4) and just, you know, doing mom stuff, and then the HOA hit us with a notice that we need to get the house painted and…
You guys know how it is.
When it comes to exhaustion and burn-out, it never seems like it’s one proximate cause, one big thing that just wipes you out. It’s more like death by a thousand cuts, and you get to the point where just one little thing can take you right off your feet.
Fortunately, I wasn’t off my feet last month, but I could see the wave coming. So I just stopped. I put a lot of things on pause other than what I consider my life support systems – feeding the family, feeding the dog, and earning the paycheck – until I could catch my breath and figure out what thing to tackle first.
Holy crap, does that make you realize just how much extra you’ve signed yourself up to do in life. When just cutting down to your minimum requirements makes you feel that free!
I’m building everything back in slowly and deliberately. Not everything is going to get to move back in. I’m looking at it as mental downsizing, and building up some much needed boundaries so that I have the room to flex where I’m needed, like when my son wants his mommy to help him with his phonics homework.
And I’m also making some much needed time for this.
This is what grounds me.
Time to walk. Time to watch a sunrise. Time to sip my coffee and smell the roast and the morning air.
Time to just be before the day requires me to be anything else.
If I were more meticulous about yoga or mediation practice, I’d call that something like finding your center. Or at least taking a moment to find your balance before you go take on the obstacles of the day.
It seems to work pretty well. So it sparks joy, and I’m going to keep it.
What helps you get grounded before you wade into the fray?
