If I wasn't a blogger, would the holidays still be as stressful? If I didn't wake up every morning with a list of posts I need to write, reviews and giveaways and unanswered emails and sponsored posts that pay the bills, all swirling around in my head, if I didn't wake up every morning thinking about all of that, would I still be stressed out just because it's the holidays? Probably. I don't even know what I want any more. I love blogging. I love the opportunities it brings me, the people I get to meet both virtually and in real life, the new products I get to review, the giveaway opportunities that bring me new readers. I just wish I could organize it all better, integrate it better into my family life. Today is Nathan's 12th birthday. I bought his presents, but I didn't wrap them, didn't buy him a card or order a cake. I haven't addressed or sent out a single Christmas card. Or wrapped a single gift. At least they are all purchased though. Gah. I'm just a ball of … [Read more...]
Single Moms and Dads, I Salute You
This past week has given me a whole new appreciation for single Moms and Dads. I do not know how you work, either in an office or at home, plus take care of kids, plus keep up with grocery shopping, meal prep, dishes, laundry, housework, doctor's appointments, checking the homework, getting everyone to bed on time - it's exhausting. Mentally and physically. I am a terrible housekeeper, that's no secret. I can't prioritize the work and so I just let it go as long as possible. I'm trying to delegate chores to the kids, but yesterday Ryan was standing next to me rinsing a dish at the sink and I noticed he looked really sad. I asked him what was wrong and he of course said "nothing". I said "honey, you know you can talk to me any time about any thing. Is everything okay at school?" "Yes." "Everything okay with your friends?" "Yes." "Okay, then what is it?" He heaved a sigh and said "it's just so stressful here at home." Oh. OH. Now, this is a kid who is more than … [Read more...]
So This Is What Calm Feels Like
Image by Elizabeth/Table4Five via Flickr Sometime last month, around the same time I mustered the courage to call my doctor and say HELP, I'M LOST IN A BLACK FOG, GET ME OUT, I made a decision. All I had to do to convince myself that it was the right decision was think back to Christmas 2008, when I was an anxious, nervous ball of stress every single day. Christmas is always stressful for me anyway, so the last thing I need to do is make it harder for myself. So I decided this year that after a certain point in December, I would allow myself to stop worrying about my blogs all the time. I saw how I had been living more of an online life than a real life, and I saw everything I was missing. I decided that I was going to make my husband and kids the number one priority. I began choosing to close my laptop and actually LOOK at my kids when they talked to me, instead of listening halfway while continuing to type. I started actually watching TV with Chris instead of half-watching … [Read more...]
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