Image by Tomasz Marciniak from Pixabay
The past few weeks have been overwhelmingly busy for me. As we are all sheltering in place, many of us are struggling with how to juggle working from home, homeschooling our kids and figuring out new and exciting ways to keep everyone entertained and ourselves sane. In addition, I’ve been working on my masters, packed up a home I lived in for over 23 years, moved to a new town and just got married!!! Yep, that’s right, all in the past few weeks. So, yeah…I’ve been just a little busy.
There are days, I am so overwhelmed I’m in tears. Most days, though, my new chaotic routine keeps me sane, if that makes sense?! My daily tasks keep me focused and I feel a heightened sense of purpose. I make my organized, color-coded lists that I can check off as I complete a task and chip away at it throughout the day (type A here … don’t judge me lol). Yes, it is overwhelming to have to accomplish so much in any day but I don’t have a choice. We all live in circumstances we do not fully control. So, my strategy is to only ‘worry’ about the things I CAN control. Hmmm, there’s a thought. Something I’m trying to learn from my now husband. If we cannot do anything about a situation, why worry? It’s mind-blowing to me to think about it that way but it is true.
So my fresh approach… Pray about what’s ‘wrong’. Hope for the best. Then don’t worry. It’s not a novel method. I didn’t come up with it, but it helps me get though the rough days. I also feel so much better after a nice long power walk out in the fresh air with the sun shining. Ahhh….such a wonderful way to de-stress. Yoga and writing work well for me too. I talk a lot about stress relievers when I teach my Mental and Emotional Health unit to my middle-schoolers. We brainstorm an extensive list about ways to reduce stress and I always say, “Do what makes your heart smile.”
When I think about it, I have many things in my life that make my heart smile. A great new home with my new ‘Mr. Right’, more quality time with him and our four combined teenagers (yes four teens… pray for us lol), home projects getting completed, a beautiful lake surrounded by a wooden path for my walks, more time to try new recipes and a career that enables me to work from home. No it is not always easy. Yes it’s overwhelming. But if I cannot control it, I cannot let it control me. I will do what makes my heart smile. I hope you do as well. Stay safe. Stay well. And go ahead… Live Your Best Life!