There aren't too many things in my world that are stable right now. It's been a pretty hell-ish year (okay, 3 years). A baby in the hospital, a broken marriage, a lost home, loss of family, divorce...these are the things good country music is comprised of, not my life! But, here we are. And now I have to deal with it. At times I think it's harder to deal with the aftermath than the actual event.
So I wanted to take a minute and reflect on what I have learned, that anyone could learn from an unstable, roller coaster of a life.
1. Prayer isn't something that should happen while you are trying to fall asleep, in the shower, trying to get your 3 year old to sleep, or walking into church. It's something that should be done regularly. BUT, I also think it's something that shouldn't be 100% about you. Trust me, I have a LOT to pray about. Did you read the above list? Yaaaa....
If I spent all my time focused on myself and all my issues, trust me, they would grow. So, it's best to focus on some others for a bit also.
2. Surrounding yourself with people that love and support you is key. I need people to remind how lucky I am; to talk me down off ledges; to tell me when I am being a baby or a complete crazy woman. I need people to help me. Yep, help me. I need help from people. I am single mom who works full time. Help might actually be an understatement.
3. Stop. Take a flippin' breath. If you don't ever stop and you run, run, run how will you ever gain the energy to keep going? I am not good at this. I run physically all the time. Not in races or anything like that, but I am non stop. If it's not at work, it's running to pick up my son from school, or getting errands done, or making sure the laundry is done. I run mentally all the time also. I am constantly thinking about what's on my plate, rethinking, over thinking....thinking a lot. Have you ever heard of people keeping notepads by their bed so when they think of something, they can write it down? I do that. But it's because I can't stop thinking...it never ends! So, stop. Take a breath, stop, breathe and regroup. It will do wonders, promise.
4. Enjoy your kids. If you don't have kids, OK, enjoy some quiet time (because once you have kids you will understand how important quiet time really is). Make sure that when you are with your kids, you are actively participating in their lives. I find myself multitasking all the time. I'm a mom. It's almost part of my job description. I can balance my checkbook via my smart phone, be on a call with a friend, drive, and clean up donut remnants from my son's tee shirt all at the same time. I do laundry, vacuum and make dinner all at once, all the while having a very intense conversation about Thomas the Choo Choo train with my 3 year old. But, I need to remember to stop and enjoy him. He will remember way more often all the times mommy read with him, walked with him, played in the pool with him than he will remember that he had clean clothes and that mommy's check book was balanced. Enjoying my son is amazing....when I actually take a minute to do it.
Just a few things to keep in mind when you wonder when things will begin to stabilize. If you're anything like me, they probably won't, but that's okay.
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