This is slated to be one of my busiest months all year. Which is something I have not entirely wrapped my head around. I’m traveling for work, then going to Rhinebeck. There’s M’s birthday and Halloween. Then some more work travel. As mentioned in my last post, I admit that I had moved past stressed into a state of overwhelm. With the new school year, I was determined to take back my life, say “No” much more often and schedule time for myself.
So when staring down this jam-packed month – how am I going to keep my sanity? By making sure I keep up with my planning. I don’t like to admit it – but I tend to be unorganized. I can usually be super and sometime overly organized for work. It’s the rest of my life where it tends to fall apart. It’s like I only have so much organization within me that I use it all up for work and then there’s nothing left.
This year, though, M and I have been setting up systems and really holding each other accountable. Things as simple as picking out our clothes for the week and packing all the things at night for the following day have made a huge difference for both of us. In the past, I have implemented these systems and even stuck to them for a few weeks… However, this year, I’m determined.
Several times in my adult life, I’ve caught myself saying things like “I can’t keep living like this”. In my current state of self-awareness, I’ve instead asked myself “Then how do I want to be living?”
I know that to slow down and enjoy the time I have with my daughter, I need to refocus on the systems that remove stress and almost magically give me more time. Spending an hour every weekend to prep outfits for the week alone saves both of us so much time every morning. When I’m not rushing around in the morning finding clothing that fits (for both of us), getting our lunches together and packing our bags – I’m sitting down, having a cup of coffee or tea with breakfast and talking to M – really setting our up our day to be more intentional. It’s fantastic.
Does every day look like that? Goodness no. But more of them are every week.
This isn’t a mental-health blog by any means. However, I know that a lot of the reasons why I knit and spin are for my mental health and that’s great. Now, I’m making sure that I’m also showing my daughter how to slow down and enjoy the time we’re given with the people around us. She may not realize the benefits I get from crafting – but we both feel the benefits from spending quality time together every day, instead of rushing around trying to find her sneakers while I desperately throw an “almost completely healthy” lunch together.
a singular knitter 