I'm trying very hard to conserve energy lately. Not what you think. I've done energy conservation for years. I mean conserving my energy.
It's so easy to get caught up in activity, don't you think? As a homeschooler, I think I'm prone to doing too much. I have three children. Even if I allow each child to do only one activity per week, that still sets me up for driving to three activities per week. Chase's Tae Kwon Do is time intensive. If I don't take him at least two or three times per week, it isn't worth it. That puts me in chauffeur mode a couple more times per week. Chase and Sierra still go to religious instructions, on different days, of course. And Marina works now, but doesn't drive yet. There is an unsafe area (known for its police activity) between here and the library, so I reserve my right to be an overprotective mom and not let her walk there. Then there are household chores, yardwork, writing my comics...the list goes on and on.
I remember one of my psychology professors in college talking about how stress affects us. Usually, the type A personality who hasn't had a vacation in years is not going to drop on the job. Sickness happens when you finally allow your body to rest after keeping it stressed for long periods of time. Think of it as driving with your foot to the floor on the gas pedal. Eventually the engine is going to complain. My body complains with asthma or migraine headaches. I had a doozy of a headache this weekend. It scared me enough to make a doctor's appointment. I had been putting off scheduling it for three months, setting my children's needs before my own.
It is so important to take some time to rest. Time to conserve energy. That's what I'm trying to do now. I'm going to try to take some time daily to do something restorative, like yoga, meditation, or simply taking a walk or finding ways to make myself laugh. (Laughter is very restorative.) Even if I have to break it up into small pockets throughout my day, I need to get out of the habit of putting it off and renew my energy reserves. September is right around the corner and I know our activities are going to start up again. I need to take care of myself so that I can be there for my family.
Want to conserve energy with me? Tell me how you will take time for you.
2 comments:
Wow, I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I'm dreading the onslaught of activities fall brings. TKD three times a week, kids club, Bible studies, Sunday School, youth group, theatre group, acting class - it's enough to make me want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head! I've been struggling with how to say no to being involved with so many different things without feeling guilty.
You are right, we need to take time to regroup, rest and breathe without feeling out of breath from rushing from one thing to the next. Downtime is a must for me, I know, otherwise the ogre inside creeps out and nobody is happy.
Reading, relaxing in the tub, having a short nap on the couch, and going for a walk are some ways I take a little time for myself. Not all at once, just here and there as I need it.
Thanks for sharing!
I'm spending today like a cat - curled up on the couch in the sun. We've had a busy few weeks, I'm feeling run down and need to recharge. I cancelled something that I had on today, have told my son he's own his own as far as entertaining himself and am sitting here with my laptop and a book. I rarely do this, but today, I just need to.
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