“Ohmygosh, I am just sooo swamped this week. The kids have so much going on, the house is a disaster, and I’m just exhausted!”
Sound familiar?
I feel like everywhere I turn, everyone is talking about justhowdarnbusy they are.
And the thing is, usually I don’t feel that way.
Sure, I work, and sure, the house can always use some sort of cleaning, and sure I have my moments of overload, but in general, I don’t consider myself an above-average “busy” person.
I find myself wondering just what makes up the “busy” in so many people’s lives–is it work? Is it the cooking? The cleaning? The kids’ activities?
Isn’t that stuff kind of just life?
I don’t think we need to dwell on “busyness,” or wear it like a badge of honor. I think that moms especially have a tendency to think we need to proclaim our busyness to validate our worth. Like if people actually knew that I spent the majority of my days sans-bra, cleaning fingerprints off of walls (white was a bad choice), browsing Facebook, or reading book after book to my kids, they would be pretty appalled.
Rush and rush until life's no fun...
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see the need to constantly dwell on how busy and packed our lives are. I know from experience that it’s not always fun to just drift aimlessly around the house with small children–structure and some sort of out-of-the-house activities keep us all sane. I’ve definitely had the days when I’ve woken up and thought, “Ok, now what?”
Sometimes it feels like those days stretch endlessly ahead of me, filled with bored and whining children, just waiting for me to come with activities to entertain them with.
I find that, in general, the more busy I am (to an extent, of course), generally, the better I feel. It’s the stagnation, the isolation, the lonely, empty days that make me feel awful, and in turn, turn me into an impatient and grumpy mother.
So I guess what I’m saying, maybe busy is not always a bad thing.
What do you think? Do you consider yourself busy? Do you wish your life was less busy?
Tiny Blue Lines
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I think we all have periods of time when we’re super busy and things are chaotic and it feels like we’re totally overwhelmed. There were certainly times, when my kids were younger, when I felt like you do. I wasn’t that busy. I had stuff going on, but it felt a lot more manageable. I’m in the middle of end of school concerts and plays and my mother just had surgery, so I’ve had a lot of “out of the house” days. When I have several days when I’m out of the house, the house gets neglected, toys don’t get put away, floors don’t get swept and the clutter gets overwhelming. Which, added to days when I’m running from one place to another, makes me feel a thousand times more stressed and aggravated.
I also think part of it is just temperament. I prefer (and my kids have definitely inherited this) days when it’s just quiet and unscheduled and more relaxed. Too much activity makes it stressful – not everyone feels that way. But I almost never complain about not having enough to do, because a day at home, when I can read and the kids can chill and play is heaven
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