Seasonal Refocus

It still amazes me that I can get lost in the chaos of life. I’m not new at this wife, mom, or even career thing but I still find myself coming up for air every few months. I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason we go into survival mode and forget all the tricks to getting by.

Things I’ve stopped doing over the past few months:

• Following a workout plan or even exercising regularly
• Eating healthy
• Cooking meals – 🙁 sorry fam
• Meal planning
• Going to bed early
• Reading
• Writing
• Being organized

Basically, when things get busy I bail on myself. In an effort to survive, I suppose. The irony is that when I stop doing these things, I stop taking care of myself. These are all the things that fill my happiness bucket and when life gets c-r-azy the last thing I should do is empty my happiness bucket.

Lately, I’ve felt this ache for a good book. I ended my summer binge watching a few TV series and now I’m finding myself bored at the end of the day. There’s nothing worse than being bored and exhausted at the same time. What do you do?! I don’t want to physically do anything besides relax and sit!

I recently made a detour to the library on my way home for lunch. I miss the library and the rows upon rows of books. I miss carrying around a stack of new books. I miss watching the librarian scan my books and put them in a neat pile for me to take home. I miss opening up a new book and having huge expectations that the words will sweep me away into a dream place. {This isn’t code for me escaping my life, I just REALLY enjoy stories.}

I looked over my new books and with great care, picked the first one. As I opened the pages and began to immerse myself in the story, I found myself being annoyed with the descriptions. I was frustrated that I was wasting precious minutes reading about yellow walls and fireplaces. It was at that very moment that I realized just how badly I needed those words. I needed the reminder that everything doesn’t have to go at the speed of social media and RIGHT NOW. It’s ok to sit a little longer and read a little more to get the full picture. It’s ok to immerse yourself in your surroundings. It’s ok if something takes a while to build up. {Am I talking about a book or a story from a small child?!}
I started a new workout plan, cleaned up my food the past couple of weeks, have made an effort to be in bed by 10:30, and have attempted to meal plan. I’m not sure why I do this over and over again every few months, but here’s to a reset! Oh, and I hope to spend a lot of time reading over the next few weeks!