Last week I felt strong. Warren was out of town for four days for his Grandmother's funeral in Provo. I was working hard on my gratitude, my love of life, my charity for my children (translation: extra amounts of patience) and just doing everything at home that needed to be done.
I kept the house running, I fed my kids, I even had a nice long playdate with feeding the gang dinner at the end since neither of our husbands were home. I accompanied a French Horn concerto at the High Priest Group dinner Saturday night. My kids were the only kids at this event and were running around the church building like crazy. That was about the worst thing that happened the whole time Warren was gone (which really isn't bad at all). I was in control and I felt good.
Then Warren came home and I tanked. Pathetic, I know, four days by myself and I'm exhausted.
I woke up this morning not feeling so strong anymore, feeling overwhelmed by the chores of daily life, all the things I want to do, etc etc. The usual. Housework is never ending.
But in stead of cleaning the kitchen I played with my son this morning. Literally played. Normally I cheat. I start the game with my kids and then with some stealth work on cleaning up something in their room or elsewhere if I can sneak out. But today I just sat there and played blocks. Stacked them, let him knock them over, praise him as he stacked them himself. It brought me joy.
The themes running through my head lately are simplification, focusing on what really matters, enjoying the moment, loving the time I have with my kids, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.
Oh and btw, I'm really enjoying my "parenting approach" to the Book of Mormon. I'm excited to share some of my thoughts but I'll get there eventually.
Well, now that I've taken some time for myself, while the little guy is still sleeping, maybe I should go do some cleaning because although it's not the most important thing, it still needs to be done....
But the final words today from a woman much wiser than myself:
"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."
- Marjorie Pay Hinckley
5 comments:
Beautiful post. I needed to read that today, especially the quote from Sister Hinckley.
I am indeed on Facebook-Devon Lovelace. I'm in the Longview Texas area. My profile pic is of Dakin
LOL, all that info was just in case there was any trouble finding me--I think there are a few Devon Lovelaces.
great quote ... great post - thanks for the thoughts ... and, for the record, i think crashing after 4 days as a single parent is totally acceptable!!
There have been several Conference addresses in the past few years about finding joy that have really stuck with me. It has become one of my goals to have a positive attitude and treasure those little moments.
Thanks for this post. I constantly struggle with finding balance and enjoy reading your thoughts.
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