Slow and Steady for 2018
A New Year is approaching and it is that time to start thinking of all the goals, the words to live by and the number on the scale you wish to see. Sometimes I feel like the New Year puts a ton of pressure on us, but other times I am somewhat thankful for the fresh start to do better, be better or do more.
While I have many goals and plans, one of the things that sits heavy on my heart is simply trying to be intentional with my time, my children, my home and my life. Motherhood can make us weary, exhausted and frayed around the edges. This isn't to overshadow the joys and happiness of motherhood because that trumps all, but many of us can say that we dream of escaping to our bed simply to rest up to do it all again the next day.
Motherhood, homemaking, working - all of those things (especially when combined) can wear us down. Days filled with too many obligations, clutter in corners, late for school drop offs. Those things are bound to happen here and there no doubt, but wouldn't life be more grand without that feeling of rush? Wouldn't it feel better if we didn't always feel like we were sinking with no lifesaver out to grab hold to? I know that feeling all too well, that's why I can say it.
I often find myself rushed and impatient. Shoes not getting put on little feet because the little ones are doing cartwheels instead. Older ones not buckling up because playing with the lights in the car are far more fascinating and all of these moments often result in my impatience showing it's dark face, simply because I am in a hurry. Perhaps I am not really running late, but it's that constant feeling of needing to be somewhere or that obligation that lies ahead that keeps me on my toes.
It's that constant feeling of being needed by everyone and every moment that can overwhelm me. It's the cries from the baby while I try and start dinner and it's the "mama can you please come cuddle" while I try and scrub the toilets. It's all of these moments lost in my day that make me feel like I don't know which way to turn sometimes. It's moments I am so incredibly grateful for but it's also the moments where I realize that there just isn't enough of me.
It's these moments that make me realize that slow and steady is the way for 2018. It's these moments that make me realize that perhaps if I had just done things differently throughout my day I wouldn't feel so rushed. Perhaps I can prep for dinner earlier or perhaps I can wake before the kids to get some "me" time in. Perhaps logging off of social media or turning off the TVs and opening the windows up can make me feel more alive.
Slow and steady is what my heart yearns for. This old house we live in now has me craving simplicity at every corner. It has me craving the old days of simple joys and treasures. It has me craving to be that mother and homemaker that I have dreamed up in my head and that despite the crazy days that I know will never go away completely, that perhaps somehow, some way, I can create my own slow and steady. I can be more intentional.
Whatever it may be for you, whether it's a goal, a word to live by or just an action that you want to take in 2018, I hope you get there. I hope you achieve what it is that your heart so desires. If you're like me and looking for life to stop passing you by on the hot mess express, then join me as we take 2018 slow and steady.
BE INTENTIONAL. Mother intentionally. Tend to your home intentionally. Prepare food intentionally. Make what matters count and cut back on the obligations, the "stuff" and the rush. Feed your soul what it craves.
Happy New Year's my dear friends!