Do you ever wake up feeling fresh and energized, ready to tackle your to-do list, but unfortunately, life happens and you just can’t get anything done?
Oh boy! Do I know that feeling!
Yesterday was definitely one of those days for me, and it was super frustrating. If you’re a mom or you work from home, I think you’ll be able to totally relate to this post.
Working From Home… With Kids. Enough Said.
Yep. I work from home (on this blog), and I have kids. Four of them to be exact, ranging from 8-years-old down to 2-years-old. I have a messy house that needs to be cleaned 20 times a day, and I homeschool my kids which can make me feel very pressured to ensure they actually turn out smart (of course I do have days when I feel that simply getting them to adulthood is good enough).
Seeing how I work from home, I usually plan my week ahead of time. That means that on Fridays, I take a little time to look over my business goals for the month and plan the coming week in a way that pushes me further toward those goals.
Yesterday, I woke up feeling ready to tackle the day. I had my cup of coffee and had my quiet time (where I read my Bible and journal a bit). Things got off to a good start as I easily completed the first thing in my planner. I paused for a break around 10 AM to have my breakfast (although it’s more like brunch at that time of the day). Then, things went south from there.
My next to-do was to get on top of some business tax info which is always stressful to me and makes me question what on earth made me want to have my own business. Because this area of business confuses me, I always call my accountant to ask for help, but she was busy which meant I had to wait for her to call me back. And that, my friends, meant that my to-do item couldn’t be completed because I was now on someone else’s timeline. Maybe it’s my type-A self that sometimes can’t deal with setbacks like this, but it was like I couldn’t get anything else done. I tried to move on to something else, but I couldn’t seem to make any headway.
And, to make the whole matter even more frustrating, the kids kept coming in every two seconds to ask me questions or to tattle on someone! Err!
I wish I could say that I were a good mom and didn’t let this get to me, but I can’t. Yes, I wish I were more relaxed and didn’t sweat the little stuff. Yes, I wish I always responded to my boys in a soft voice ALL the time. Yes, I wish that I were more in control of myself even when I can’t control the situation. (Does that even make sense?)
Getting Back On Track When I Can’t Get Anything Done
Okay, so after needing to lock myself in the bathroom for a second to take a breather, I decided that I needed to be that good mom I wanted to be so I grabbed my camera and headed outside to photograph some things that make me happy.
It was a beautiful winter day. The sun was shining, and it helped get my mind off things a bit. I took some deep breaths of clean fresh mountain air, soaked up a bit of winter sunshine, and took some photos of things around me such as the sun shining through the trees, a half-stacked pile of wood to keep us warm on cold days, and of course, my boys.
Watching them play and being carefree always helps put me back in the right perspective. They’re having a great time… enjoying life, and it makes me realize that even though I’m with them all day, most days, I don’t want them to remember me sitting in front of the computer, fussing at them when they interrupt me (even if it’s during “work hours”) or when I’m having one of those days where I can’t get anything done.
After my outdoor break, I headed back inside to make lunch. I ended up whipping up a pan of Saucy Mediterranian Frittata for lunch, and I even took photos so I could share the recipe with you tomorrow! I guess getting my mind off what had me stuck and focusing on something else for a while (even though my to-dos were not getting done) helped me to actually accomplish a few things I hadn’t planned for!
As always, thanks so much for letting me share my bad day with you. I know you most likely know what it’s like to juggle a lot and have days where you can’t get anything done. So many times, your comments help encourage me and make bad days much, much better. Thank you, friend!
xo, Meagan
Meagan, I know EXACTLY how you feel. EXACTLY. Totally empathise. I have been through similar lately. I have 3 kids of almost 6 down to almost 1 year old. And I can’t count the amount if times ive barked at them lately to let me get on/stop fighting/stop waking baby/let me make dinner in PEACE! (This includes doing a tax return recently and add financial worries to the mix. Yuk) and generally feeling like a totally rubbish mum. Enter… GUILT.
Your blog today about your vulnerability and all the crazy stuff going on right now totally struck a cord too.
And a friend of mine lost her mum v suddenly at Christmas, whil I lost mine 6 years ago and her experience brought it all back. We cried, hugged and laughed.
Us girls need to stick together and it’s blogs like yours that kind of make me feel like we’re reaching out/holding hands across the globe (I’m in the UK). Your tutorials/recipes/words are inspiring. I commend you for the work that you do. I don’t know how you do it all without having a breakdown! Clearly you’re strong.
Keep on writing to us, missus!
Kx
Thanks for sharing with me, K. And trust me, I don’t do it all. I try to keep my priorities straight and say “no” more than I say “yes.” And I totally agree with sticking together! We need encouragment and uplifting… a lot!
I’m so excited to have found your blog, because–after having my second baby 10 months ago, not sleeping well (waking up every 2 hours and getting up at 5am most days) and basically being in “survival mode” ever since–I’m finally taking more baby steps toward a more natural/crunchy lifestyle. Most of the time, I feel like I’m falling flat on my face in this journey, and everyone else seems to have it all together. Your authenticity is very refreshing and encouraging. I hope that one day I can manage to make a frittata for lunch instead of PB&J, haha! #goals
I’m so excited to have found your blog and have really enjoyed perusing your posts!
Thanks for sharing, Leah, and I’m so glad to have you here! And baby steps are the perfect way to begin and stick with natural living.
Megan ,
Life has its challenges, believe me. But I want you to know you have a very cute awesome family!
Even I can’t get everything done at time especially last week, really drove me crazy, I have just one young man who think he can accomplish a lot of community work.. yet most of the thinking falls on me. It never quit,we are zoom forever..?
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