It's funny how mommy life is kind of a blur sometimes. One day rolls into another...and the next after that. Soon you don't know anything about what has happened in a day's, week's, or even a month's time. That's how people see years past by and are not sure it really happened.
The Mysterious Blur...
Since the holidays, I have felt my world turn into this massive blob where I get out of bed, give rides, teach Chinese students, cook, clean, write, work out, eat, and occasionally watch a show with hubby. Getting alone time is like squeezing an orange dry...have you ever tried that....it's hard!
And the next day looks exactly like the first one. Wash and repeat.
Wash and repeat.
And then this Mysterious Blur seems to start taking from our ability to keep functioning this way. We were not meant to go through mundane tasks. Even your body needs a variety of exercise. If you were to run on the treadmill the same amount of time and speed, every day, it would eventually stop challenging your body and would cease to give results. But throwing in a new exercise, a hill climb, a faster speed, or even a prolonged time will be healthier for your body.
Marcel, one of my favorite people, and the head of the lunch department at Venture Academy, even said something along these lines. Your body needs healthy food. But an excess of one food is never good, even if it is healthy. Eating an apple a day might not be as effective the 346th time you eat it. Your body needs a healthy variety to really get the nutrition it needs.
So what does that have to do with being a mommy? Well, surely a mundane schedule cannot be healthy for our minds. It is hard taxiing kids around, feeding them at scheduled times, cleaning the same clothes and dishes week after week, and essentially going through the same motions every week. We need a variety.
But going out costs money and effort... yes...and so does keeping your mental sanity. You get out what you put in. What does that mean for the people who really struggle with mental illness and can't physically get out? Change up your routine around the house. Visit a friend, call a friend you haven't talked to in a while. send them a message on Facebook, write them a letter, journal, do a craft or hobby, try something new. But the key is do something different that throws a kink in your schedule. It may be uncomfortable...but being uncomfortable allows for growth, and for anyone who is in a blur...growth is good.
My kids have also fallen in the blur a time or two. You think they like watching the same TV shows? Okay maybe they do. And reading the same books...okay again they do. We underestimate a kid's adaptability for blurs. :) But teaching them to change up their schedule is good for them and teaches them coping skills for when it will happen.
So this week, do something to change your blur. Try something different. Go somewhere unexplored. Talk to someone you haven't in a while.
But fight the blur. And we'll all be fighting it with you.
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