I don’t have to tell you that it’s been a hot minute, minute as in approximately 20 months or so since I wrote a blog post. I have missed the weekly ‘mind dump’ and sharing sneak peeks of the most recent sessions, it became an outlet of sorts for me to share a small part of my life with all of you- whether you wanted it or not ;). I will admit, my goal is to get back into at least a once of week post but all my fellow mothers know that life rarely goes exactly as we plan regardless of how many Excel spreadsheets, sticky notes, and calendars we organize our lives onto. Yes, I did say Excel, I love spreadsheets and use them ALL. THE. TIME! My brain loves them!
Now would also be a good time to give a little disclaimer, I am pregnant, just started my last trimester, with two months and a few weeks to go SO if I have shall we say, “squirrel brain” then just write it off as a symptom of pregnancy! All that being said, here’s a mini life update!
In the fall of 2020 I decided to get my bachelors degree, I knew it’d be work, but what I didn’t expect was just how much work and sheer balancing act that would result. I started the semester with 18 credits, and by the time I graduated I was able to get down to 15 to finish in five semesters. My husband spent many nights on the couch by himself catching up on a movie, or a quick nap, and my kids probably watched enough movies for the rest of their lives (at least it feels that way!), thankfully WildKrats, Liberty Kids, and Magic School Bus provided some educational entertainment! During the school madness, we were still homeschooling, and still trying to keep track of the everyday tasks. I will say it over and over again, I know it was the right time and I loved what I learned during my courses and with that, I’m extremely grateful to finally be graduated, and I think the rest of my little family is too! So, what have I done with the extra 40 hours each week? Well, I’m made Dandelion jelly and salve, fed my family a homecooked meal at least 5 out of the 7 nights each week, the basement has been 80% decluttered and reorganized, the laundry is down to two baskets regularly sitting on the floor rather than 6+, I may still have a months worth of ironing to do, but that’s just because I don’t enjoy ironing ;). But in the middle of the ‘normal’ I’ve enjoyed being a little more flexible, I’ve visited my parents more in the past three weeks than I had in the past two years combined (excluding Sunday visits), I’ve signed my kids up for extra activities and I even went to the park a handful of times without planning it out first- this is a big deal because I am NOT a spontaneous person, I like to have each item in my calendar and if it’s not there, chances are it won’t be happenin! Needless to say, I’m becoming more flexible, while still being mom and it feels so good!
So, I’m sure you’re asking yourself why should you care, and what does this have to do with anything and anyone other than me? Well, that’s a great question! My answer is this, I want you to know that regardless of how hard, or time consuming your current circumstances feel, as cliché as they sound, they really don’t last forever. But what does is the joy, and the learning and growth you allow yourself to have in the middle of it. It took me going back to school, and putting in 30+ hours each week on a computer, in my own world, to realize that I really do enjoy just being mom, not having to be at the computer all the time, or hitting deadlines. The career life just wasn’t for me, but spending time with my family is my happy place. When that chunk of time was given back, so came my joy of sitting down with my kids and learning alongside them, being able to feel like we could have a conversation that ended in 30+ questions, and have the TIME and desire to look up the answers. When I got that time back, I found excitement in being outside because I didn’t worry about how late I was going to have to stay up to make up for lost homework time. I am finding even more joy than before in hearing the rain and wind without worrying if the power was going to go out. Those little things that blended into the everyday ‘grime’ have become things I get excited for! Right now you may be overwhelmed, but just as the line says, “This too shall pass,” and truly it will and I hope you are able to learn something from and gain strength from the growth.
-Mikenna