Embrace The Calm.

Motivate Monday #13! Can you even believe it?!

This is probably one of the more challenging areas for me to discuss… Because I am not calm when my life is calm.

I absolutely 💯 thrive in chaos. I LOVE being busy. I LOVE having ten different things going on. I believe I fill my cup by doing ALL THE THINGS. For real. Nothing gets me more hopped up than the feeling of accomplishment. And what’s a surefire way to accomplish things? Filling my calendar until there is nowhere left to write!

I love being busy. I love spending time with people. I love cooking, and entertaining, and making plans.

The thing is, even though I thrive in chaos, I still need downtime. I still get burnt out, but it’s hard for me to notice until I cross that line.

We must recharge our batteries, fill our cups, soothe our souls. It may look different for you and me, but we have to take care of ourselves.

Embrace the calm, friends. We do not have to be busy every second of every day to feel like we accomplished something. And we certainly don’t have to accomplish everything.

Let go.

Let your husband load the dishwasher, even though it may not be the way you would do it.

Give your son a mop and let him clean the floor.

Let your children to wash, dry, and put away their laundry.

Relinquish some control and responsibility, and embrace the calm.

I know some of you are in the sweet spot of parenting, with semi-independent children who can fix themselves something simple to eat, shower without assistance, and go to bed without much difficulty.

Embrace this little bit of freedom. Embrace your child’s blossoming independence. You made this person, and now it’s time to take a little step back so they can move about and grow and learn.

Enjoy date nights and sleeping through the night.

You are doing an amazing job, and these are the sweet fruits of your labor.

How to embrace the calm.

• Schedule something for YOU this week
• Schedule time with your spouse
• Read a book
• Scroll Instagram
• Let the kids clean the house (and don’t stress about missed dust bunnies)
• Take a long bath
• Do yoga
• Meditate
• Practice mindfulness
• Spend quality time with your kids
• Cultivate inspiring and positive adult friendships

Enjoy the peace.

I know as our kids grow older, they shift from needing us all. the. time. to wanting their own taste of freedom and independence. Now, that can be hard to let go of and give them room to maneuver. But. BUT. Allowing your children freedom of movement means you get some of yours back as well.

Enjoy it, guys! Have coffee dates. Get in touch with friends. Go to sip and paint nights.

Embrace the calm. You have put in thousands of hours of hard work, missed sleep, sweat, and tears. Learn who you are again. Fall in love with yourself.