These past few months have been very liberating for me. I feel freedom like I've never felt before...
1) I stopped making cakes for money
2) I retired from Scentsy
3) I didn't force my daughter into doing softball or cheerleading (which in turn got me out of being a coach)
4) I didn't sign my son up for t-ball
Don't get me wrong, I loved making cakes and selling Scentsy. It was a bittersweet parting for both of those with me. But, I was putting SO much effort into those 2 things, and not enough where it belonged...here at home, my husband, my kids, MYSELF...my friends and extended family...everyone suffered as a result of me feeding a need inside me to be perfect at so many things. I got self gratification from the wrong places. So, I refocused on my priorities, and it's been an interesting transition. I almost feel guilty when I'm not running around like a chicken with it's head cut off! But...wait...I like this laid back, enjoy the moment me!
As far as my kids go--first I'd like to mention that my evenings are just me and the kids! I don't have the luxury of relying on my better half to run kids to one practice while I watch the other's game. That helped me make the final decision on not signing them up for anything this summer, really.
Then...I started thinking about my childhood...and some of my best memories of my summers were the quiet times, or the "unscheduled fun". Like finding time to hang out with my dad in his shop,"helping" him with cars, weeding the plant beds with my mom, pretending mud puddles were lakes and making fishing poles by tying strings on sticks to fish in the mud puddles, running through the sprinkler with my sister or going on bike rides with my friends to the lake where we skipped rocks. I guess what I'm getting at is that I want to be here for my kids while they still like me and I'm not just good for a ride to a friend's house or to the mall.
I'm putting the brakes on my life, and stopping to smell the roses. I never realized how much I needed to do that...but you live and you learn. And it's time to live...
1) I stopped making cakes for money
2) I retired from Scentsy
3) I didn't force my daughter into doing softball or cheerleading (which in turn got me out of being a coach)
4) I didn't sign my son up for t-ball
Don't get me wrong, I loved making cakes and selling Scentsy. It was a bittersweet parting for both of those with me. But, I was putting SO much effort into those 2 things, and not enough where it belonged...here at home, my husband, my kids, MYSELF...my friends and extended family...everyone suffered as a result of me feeding a need inside me to be perfect at so many things. I got self gratification from the wrong places. So, I refocused on my priorities, and it's been an interesting transition. I almost feel guilty when I'm not running around like a chicken with it's head cut off! But...wait...I like this laid back, enjoy the moment me!
As far as my kids go--first I'd like to mention that my evenings are just me and the kids! I don't have the luxury of relying on my better half to run kids to one practice while I watch the other's game. That helped me make the final decision on not signing them up for anything this summer, really.
Then...I started thinking about my childhood...and some of my best memories of my summers were the quiet times, or the "unscheduled fun". Like finding time to hang out with my dad in his shop,"helping" him with cars, weeding the plant beds with my mom, pretending mud puddles were lakes and making fishing poles by tying strings on sticks to fish in the mud puddles, running through the sprinkler with my sister or going on bike rides with my friends to the lake where we skipped rocks. I guess what I'm getting at is that I want to be here for my kids while they still like me and I'm not just good for a ride to a friend's house or to the mall.
I'm putting the brakes on my life, and stopping to smell the roses. I never realized how much I needed to do that...but you live and you learn. And it's time to live...
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