STOP!

Once again I find that it's been too long since I've given myself permission to stop long enough to take a deep breath and write. I'm in one of those places where I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by life and the lack of time in a day. Even as I write this, I feel as though I need to rush to get back to the drier that just buzzed or to empty the dishwasher that just finished it's last cycle. Lately, life feels as though it just rolls from one " I need to" to the next.

I've watched my husband become increasingly busy with life's responsibilities as well. Most days he's out the door by 6:00 a.m. and returns between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m.. Then it's time to complete the day's paperwork, then time to check in on emails to see what the next day will hold. Next comes dealing with anything that may have come up with his dad. Calls from the nursing home, the bank, the state worker, the real estate agent, the ex wife or his dad himself asking once again why he can't go back home and the nursing home will remain his home indefinitely. And there's the mounds of paperwork that come daily with trying to keep his dad's affairs in order. Oh yeah! Dinner gets thrown in there somewhere and before you know it, it's time for bed, then in the blink of an eye, time to get up and repeat!

I know we're not the only household that's dealing with the stresses of life. I am not lying when I say, aside from the retired people I know, there is not one person in my life who doesn't run from the time they get up until the time they collapse back into their bed at night. And even then, you're lucky if sleep comes, with all the thoughts that bombard you when you hit the pillow because your brain has been too busy to entertain them during the day. The general feel I get from people lately is that they're over worked, under paid, and at the mercy of their employer because they don't want to be part of the unemployed statistic in this country. I was speaking with a woman the other day who was quite upset because she'd just been informed that her office was being put on mandatory weekends. Mandatory! This is not a, take a day off during the week and work a day on the weekend mandatory, this is an in addition to, mandatory. When the hell did our employers obtain so much power over our lives? Feeling over worked and under valued does not a happy camper make!

How on earth do you replenish when this is your life? How do you maintain a sense of self? A sense of balance? Is it even possible? I know it's an on going battle for me, and most likely, you. We're so programmed to put joy and fun at the end of our to-do lists that sometimes, because they're at the end of the list, it seems like they themselves, are one more "to-do". This my friends, is no bueno!

I'm in one of those phases where I have to constantly remind myself of the importance of making time for joy and fun. Even when it feels like a chore, you HAVE to do it. Gather with friends or family for a couple of hours to be reminded that you're not alone in your exhaustion. Spend some alone time with your significant other to remind yourself of why you chose this person to be your significant other! Go for a walk, read a magazine, listen to some music, get your nails done, work in the garden, cook yourself a nice, healthy meal, write a blog! Whatever it takes to remind yourself that no matter how your employer makes you feel, you have real value.

We, as a society, are forgetting how to stop and smell the roses. Who has time for that? Make the time, because the beauty those roses bring to this world only matters if someone STOPS long enough to appreciate them. Breathe in...breathe out.

xo,
Carrie