Busy Times

These past few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster, let me tell you.  Waking up to a local bar shooting, one that I visited often as a teen/ early twenties, was surreal.  It was not only heartbreaking but also unbelievable. All the normal questions came to mind: why, who would do this, are we safe, should I take my kids to school today? Well, I did take the kids to school, but I was uneasy most of the day.  Good thing my kids had one of those running fundraisers at school, so I was there most of the morning anyway. But then the second part of the day hit us with another hard blow.

As I was dropping off one of my friend’s kids, I looked up and noticed smoke coming from the mountain that we frequently hike.  At first, I thought it’s not that big of a deal, the firefighters will put it out quick, but then the wind just got stronger and stronger.  All the sudden we were all on fire watch and we were getting beaten down by wind.  Wind never helps during a fire, but this wind was not stopping and went on for a few days.  I don’t know what it is about the wind but for some reason my kids get crazier than normal. It’s like something goes off in their heads saying ‘ok its time to get into everything and test how far we can push mom before she breaks’. It didn’t help that we were indoors because of the smoke from the fires, but they were bouncing off the walls and I was going a bit crazy myself.  Thanks to my friends and some wine, we were able to survive the rambunctious children.

As soon as everything settled down and we were able to get back to our routine, it was time for the holidays to begin!! Which is always a rollercoaster of emotions! It was like we were at Six Flags going from one scary, heart pounding ride to another. It always starts off happy to see everyone, which then quickly turns into stressed out at all the work that needs to get done, but then your sad when it’s over, and mad that your kids hurt your decorations, and the list goes on and on.  But this season already started off with so many horrible things; shooting, wind, and fire, that even though I am already emotionally drained, I am also grateful for everything in my life.  It is so easy to get caught up in all the big bad thing that happen in this world, but what really matter is all the little, just as important, good things that are easily overlooked.  It is something I need to remind myself every morning, and the days that I do remind myself, I find that my day is a whole lot better. So, let’s cheers today to all the little things, like the kids making their beds or having no laundry to do, or the random hugs we get.  Today, lets cheers to all the good small things that happened in our day and be grateful for all that we have.  Cheers

Nov 29, 2018 at 8:28 AM Permalink

Mom tribe

Nov 7, 2018 at 6:10 PM Permalink

Pick and Choose

Life is a big balancing act. If you pick to do one thing then chances are you must give up another thing. Being a mom, we make these ‘sacrifices’ daily. “Hmm do I fold the NEVER-ENDING laundry or start prepping for dinner?” or “Should I give the twins a bath or do the dishes?”. We only have so many hours in the day and even though some days are endless it still isn’t enough time to get to everything. One thing that I am learning more and more in my life is what are the things that can wait over the things that are of importance. This has taken me so much time to figure out but the older my kids get the clearer it has become to me. Here is an example: Laundry vs. playing soccer with your kid when they ask- laundry will always be there an we will always have something to wear because we have more clothing then we actually need so it doesn’t need to be done right away, but when your kid asks for your to kick around the ball and play some soccer that really cannot wait because the older they get the less likely they will ask and you will miss that opportunity. Plus, what is ten mins out of your day really? Another example: work vs. your ‘you’ time- Technology is a blessing but, its probably the worst thing ever. People used to go to work then come home and that would be the end of the work day. In todays world people come home from work to work more from home, on their computers, cell phones, etc. Work is never ending and there is always more to do and its interfering with family time and you down time. Both are important, and we are not getting enough of either. We’ve ‘scarified’ our personal time for what, more stress, working hard for the same pay, ensuring that we will be grumpy?? This shouldn’t be the sacrifices we make. When you get home, you should turn your phone off, put your computer away, leave the tv off, for at least an hour and go do something for you! Go out on a jog, bike ride, walk, or go read a book, paint your nails, take a long shower or go grab a drink with a friend of loved one. You should do something or anything for you. What’s an hour in the grand scheme of things? If people call, they will leave a message and guess what those emails will still be there in an hour. Remember if you can’t take care of yourself then you can’t take care of anyone else. Take that time for you and your family. Until next time, Cheers.

Nov 3, 2018 at 8:55 AM Permalink