What can you do?

Field Guide for Moms Lesson 23

When everything feels crazy and overwhelming, what can you do that makes you still feel like yourself?

I’ve been a bit overwhelmed for the last month (honestly for much of the year). In the last four weeks, I’ve had an illness for one child, followed by a large snowstorm that left 8” of snow and ice on the ground with no school for a week and delayed school for the week after, a bad back injury to me from a fall on said ice, a hospitalization for one of my parents, a stomach bug for one child followed very quickly by another, more minor illness for the other one. Oh, and just today, we have another snow day!

This is also not to mention all of the more macro and insane stuff happening in the world. And so, as the saying goes “there’s always something.” No matter what your life looks like in addition to the full-time gig of Momming, having children, particularly in the winter months, is the ultimate wildcard to all plans and disciplined practices. There will always be something that can keep you away from your favorite personal rituals and practices.

It’s safe to say I’ve lost all of my routines the last month. I’ve spent too much of my breath saying “I can’t seem to catch a breath”. But it’s important to maintain your sanity, even when nothing feels “normal”. So, I’ve been challenging myself to say “what can I do?” instead of focusing on all of the things that I can’t do and I’ve been leaning into little things I can do for me.

Right now, can you jot down on a scrap of paper or on your phone, just 3 little things that make you feel at your best or feel like you. This should hopefully come easy to you, but if it doesn’t, what are things you look forward to that you get really bummed if they get cancelled or don’t happen. (Maybe on a snow day like today!)

Here are more than a few examples for me that might help:
-Doing my physical therapy exercises (gosh, I’m so old!)
-Going to my favorite workout class at Core Club
-Journaling every day
-Getting out for a walk
-Making myself a luxury lunch
-Going to a coffee shop to work or write

I’ve felt housebound a bit this winter in a way I never have before. I’ve had many of my work mornings or morning workouts cancelled by changes in temperature inside little bodies and outside in the world, so I’ve had to find or make new outlets.

So my question for you… Even when everything feels unpredictable, what little thing can you do that keeps you feeling like you? Is it an at-home workout that doesn’t require you to go anywhere? A morning writing, prayer or meditation practice paired with a fresh coffee while your child watches a show? Could it be a simple evening journaling session you do in the comfort of your bed when everyone else who needed you has gone to sleep?

There are a lot of things you can’t do when illness, injury or winter have you or your family down. But instead of focusing on all the things you can’t do, the places you can’t go or the plans you can’t keep, ask yourself “what can you do?” and lean into that. For You!

Keep going!
Love,
Michelle

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