Stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, this is how I am feeling. Really the exhaustion should always be an indicator for me to slow it down a bit. Truth is, it is mid October and I’m struggling to get into the school year routine. I’m rushing every morning and am overloaded every afternoon and evening. I’m way too hard on myself, I know this is true.

But the truth I am holding on to today is that I know, far beyond anything else, is that God will take care of my needs. I KNOW IT. How? I just need to look at my past and remember the joy on the mountain tops he has blessed me with as well as the sorrows he has walked through with me in the valleys of this life.

He has answered every whispering prayer of my heart-even if it wasn’t in a way I wanted Him to.  Yes… No… Not now… They are all answers. I give my boys these answers when they ask me questions. Can I have a piece of gum? Yes. Can I ride without my booster seat? No. Can I watch a movie? Not right now. Every question gets an answer, but not every answer is yes.

I was encouraged this week by a blog called Finding Joy and a video blog by the Truth Bomb Mom. I seriously want both of these women to be part of my inner circle. I want to do life with them. Finding Joy talked about waiting for tomorrow. That totally reminds me of the Dr. Seuss book we read tonight, Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Towards the middle there is a section on waiting, everyone is just waiting. I’m totally guilty of making excuses and putting off until tomorrow, as if I’m guaranteed tomorrow. But how many times this week did I move the folded laundry from the bed to the floor, to the bed, to the floor. Why? Because I could put it away tomorrow. Well tomorrow came and went and I forgot about the laundry on my bed until bedtime because I never go in my room during the day and at bed time I want to go to bed. I know the laundry is not a make it or break it deal, but seriously if I just took 2 minutes to put it away before bed, I would have one less load to put away, when? TOMORROW!!! Ya know what else got me this week? Facebook. The boys were all headed for bed and I was tired so I thought I would scroll for just a sec… yeah, can you scroll for just a sec? Cause I can’t. So I scrolled and scrolled, and when I got up, I remember that not only did I have to do whatever I got up to do, but I also had to make lunches and switch the laundry to the dryer and possibly wash more dishes. Well I took my phone and I gave it a timeout. Yup I tossed it on my bed(maybe next to the folded laundry) and I left it there for the rest of the evening because I was not going to use it as an excuse anymore. This was like eye opening stuff to me. I tell me kids to clean up when they are done and ready to move on to something else, so why shouldn’t I? Then there’s Truth Bomb Mom who did a permission video this week, basically reminding moms that we don’t need to be perfect or get everything done. That some days are going to be great and others days won’t.

So as I’m feeling tired and stressed, I have some choices… I could wallow in it and wait for tomorrow(wait for when we have more money or wait for when my kids don’t try to rip each others faces off the second the phone rings or wait for my firefighter to be home more), or I could DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! So yesterday I wallowed. But today, today I did something. Today I did NOTHING! I kept my tired butt in bed reading for myself until 8:30am, watched 3 movies with my boys, worked on some gardening-for 2 hours, basically uninterrupted, made dinner and served it on paper plates, bathed 2 children and had everyone in bed before 9(there was a nose bleed incident that delayed this process but I think we are all good now). I was tired, but it was the least amount of fatigue I had all week. This was such a good reminder for me of why self care is so important. Mom’s Night Out reference coming at ya(if you haven’t seen it, you must), I’ve got to put on my oxygen mask before assisting others. If I’m tired and worn out, everything I do is basically going to suck because nothing will sound as good as going to bed. I’m so glad I got to recharge today.  In this coming week, I will not put off until tomorrow. I will finish my essay for submission. I will start writing for the  book idea I’ve been working on. I will love my people and give them the best of me every chance I get because that cannot wait until tomorrow. And now since I am oh so ready to go to sleep, I will put away the laundry that is on my bed!

Have you recharged lately? What will you do to take care of yourself in the next week? Feel free to share in the comments!

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