Happy Days

Good morning everyone! Another gorgeous day and so glad you popped by for a read. I have just got back from a jog/walk (honestly, it was mostly a walk but I jogged up my street to make it look like I was running the whole time) and am currently riding the glorious endorphin wave. Elliott is happily playing with blocks and we are listening to the Wiggles blaring out of the stereo...such a gorgeous morning! I thought maybe today I would fill you in on my shift in thinking over the past couple of weeks while I had a mini blogging break...

Years ago, when I was new to this motherhood gig, I would wake up every day with a smile on my face and as I snuggled in bed with Sophie, I would ask her what kind of fun things she wanted to do for the day. I managed to juggle all of the household commitments, the business admin for Mat and playing with Sophie. They were happy days. I hadn't realised it but as the years went on, slowly things changed and I was not quite so excited to be waking up every day. All the tasks just seemed to hard, too plentiful and too overwhelming. It sucked. My mind would start racing the minute I woke up, even before my eyes were open, thinking of all the things I had to get done...get the washing on, clean the floors, feed the kids, walk the dog, do some bloody business paperwork, play with the kids, set up some engaging activities for the kids so I can take five minutes to have a shower, feed the kids again, mediate the kids fights, clean up after the kids, run some errands, feed the kids again (they never stop eating!) etc etc etc. It was endless and I felt exhausted before the day had even begun. 

Now however, I have made a simple little shift in my thinking. Instead of considering what I have to get done during the day, I ask myself "What am I going to try to accomplish today?" It sounds so simplistic and perhaps even useless, but for me, it is working a treat. I divide tasks into two categories: that which can be achieved with the kids around (eg- washing and household chores) and that which needs to be done while the kids are asleep or occupied elsewhere (eg- business paperwork and writing). I devote blocks of time and attention to playing with the kids and don't let anything distract us (not even if the phone rings, it just has to wait). Then I also devote time to myself...Yesterday I told the kids I was going to sit on the couch and read a magazine for 20 minutes and they would simply have to entertain themselves. I still conversed with them and only managed to read about one full page of the magazine but I stuck to my guns and just sat on my backside, not tending to another human being for 20 whole minutes. It was great! Sophie had her nose all out of joint about it but Elliott was happy to do his own thing (spot the first child, lol). Then today, I popped Elliott in the pram, left the messy house and list of chores behind us and we went for a walk/jog. I hardly even spoke to Elliott on the journey and we just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the empty streets. It was so peaceful that it was nearly meditative. Delightful!

So there you have it, I have shifted my priorities, put my own needs on the agenda and so far, things seems to be going along smoothly. More good news is that young Sophie seems to have lost that feral and disgusting attitude that she was giving me a few weeks back and is now a happy child once more (well, most of the time anyway). Happy, happy days xox