Life is lived…
one day at a time. Remember that show? I digress. My day was the same as every day has been the last four months. Jam packed. Taking care of my grandkids has aged me at least five years, Lol.
It doesn’t matter what is happening on any given day that determines how it’s going to go. If I slept well or not. Or have more, or less help.
I realized that the days that are harder are the ones where I feel sorry for myself and harbor feelings of resentment.
The happy days are when I accept where I am, allowing me to focus on the task at hand. The kids only see me as someone that they love and who loves them back. They don’t understand the work and sacrifice it takes to help raise children. That just means that you are doing it right.
All they need to know is that they can count on you to provide for them.
Breathe
When overwhelmed and stressed, we humans tend to hold our breath!
Don’t forget to breathe. More so take deep breaths. Especially in the middle of a stressful situation and then carry on.
Take advantage of the various meditation apps out there that offer stress relieving techniques, guided meditations, and emergency grounding exercises. They work.
Many times, throughout my day when checking in with myself I realize how incredibly shallow my intakes of breath are. Then I take a deep breath and appreciate it as the incredible gift that it is.
Breathe.
Re-Frame
Things will get better. If you’ve never done change well, when you have small children, or are in charge of small children for a period of time, change becomes the light at the end of the tunnel.
In other words, they will grow up, the daily grind will get easier.
Stay light, laugh, a lot, and take things in fifteen-minute intervals.
Tell yourself, “All I have to do is get through the next fifteen minutes.”
Before you know it it’s the end of the day and you did it!
Your circumstances are as you frame them.
For example: When I’m trying to reason with a two-year old in the middle of a meltdown, making after school snacks, and overseeing homework for two school aged children, I tell myself I am their hero. Which, by the way, includes me asking for help.
Before you know it, I am in my bed again falling into blissful sleep.
Repeat
You will have time to focus on you again.
Nothing lasts forever. Keep that in mind for when you have reached the end of one journey for there will always be another waiting for you.
Breathe, practice looking at the glass as half full, and repeat.
One day I will meet my old companion, sweet silence, again. The kids will no longer need me, and I will be on the road again, so to speak. And in between I will be able to get more than five hours of sleep.
I used to entertain the idea of being alone and having all the time in the world for myself. Now I realize that I’m very lucky to be a part of what will be my grandkids core memories.
Makes me wonder about all the long gone, some forgotten, some never known heroes who helped my Mom raise me.
Thank you.
“If you desire an hour’s happiness, take a nap. If you desire a day’s happiness, go fishing. If you desire a month’s happiness, get married. If you desire a year’s happiness, inherit a fortune. If you desire a lifetime’s happiness, help someone else.”
Chinese Proverb
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