Welcome Back

Several months ago I started getting really sick. It was at the beginning of the holidays and right as my husband was traveling nearly every week. I put off trying to figure things out for several months, but things weren’t getting better. I paired down to the very most basic of tasks and pushed through on the days when I wasn’t in bed. We all just pushed through. What usually is a calmer travel time for my husband never came though, and just weeks before our family took a 15 day trip to Florida, I knew I needed help. I finally went in and it was all a pretty easy fix, but I really did need some help and I’m grateful I finally went in. 

But life doesn’t slow down and wait for you to get better, so we still have to decide what is mandatory and what needs to be put on the back burner. In fact, the traveling for my husband has not slowed down this year and in the last 38 days, we were in the same house at night for 4 of those days. 

Through all of these past 9 months, the thing that has kept me sane and focused on the most important things was my task list. Knowing what I generally wanted to get to, knowing my limitations for physical activity or focus, and gauging those two things against each other was how I survived without feeling like I was drowning in life. I still had 4 kids, a house and a yard and things expected of me, but I could choose where my focus needed to be, balanaced with things I had promised others and feel like all would be okay. 

As I have spent the last 2 months slowly bringing my expectations back up and tackling things that have been put off for months, it’s nice to know that my reminders don’t control my life - they just help me create that balance and peace that I love having in my daily life. 

What do you do when life happens and you can’t do it all? How do you continue to “function” without becoming overwhelmed?