SLOWING DOWN

I'm a busy bee by nature. I like to be moving, creating, getting s**t done. Sometimes I don't know when to stop. I get so caught up in the busy-ness that I spin myself into a tight little ball. I forget to listen to my body and my heart, even when they're screaming at me to stop.

 With Alexis in Peru for ten days, it was easy for me to let myself get overwhelmed. Aside from keeping up with the little firecracker, I was also running our landscaping business on my own, and keeping up with our SpritySol shops. I was winding myself more tightly, my mind a scrolling to-do list, racing with thoughts and projects and tasks that needed doing. I was missing the magical moments. I was headed towards a crash.

But luckily, I caught myself. I felt the familiar sensation of tightness and stress and I chose to turn away. I took my to-do list and erased half of the tasks. I gave myself permission to give work only the effort needed to get by-- no more. The rest of my time and energy will be spent soaking up these last few weeks as a family of three, not stressing about deadlines or e-mails or freezer meals.

Tai and I explored the river near our house yesterday-- it was the kind of magical afternoon that I will keep tucked into my heart forever. I had to fight my mind at times--- it kept telling me that we needed to get home to water the garden and bring in the laundry-- but I won. I realized that watching my babe splash in the river, bathed in golden summer sunlight was far more important than any task on my to-do list. I tuned in. Slowed down. Breathed in the magic of it all.