I crave peace. I do. I crave a lifestyle that promotes peace and calm. I cringe at the harried, constantly moving, constantly doing, constant chaos that so frequently defines life. Some people plan so that they can be peaceful, some people drive peace away with constant frenzied planning, and some people don’t plan at all and are peaceful. Why is that? I think I’ve found myself in all of those moments. Moments of unplanned peace, peace that comes from planning, and planning myself out of peace. Weird!
I’ve been thinking about it a bit lately. I’m tired of busy stress. I really Really REALLY want to simplify my life so that I can enjoy what I do instead of be stressed out by it all.
Of course, peace and tranquility are difficult to create with a house full of small children, a home business, and the inevitable unexpected events in life. But I’ve made up my mind, and I am going to do it.
There are a few steps I’ll be taking along the journey, but I’m not going to sit and “plan” it all out to the point. I know that I will be limiting screen time for everyone. Kids get fewer “shows” and that’s been happening already with the warm summer weather, but Mom needs to be disciplined as well and just NOT turn on the computer. I will be weeding out, disposing of, and swapping out toys in the next week or two. Who needs all the clutter? Not us! I will become pro-active and think up creative things for the lads to engage in instead of just chucking them out the door to get them out of the way or keep them quiet while Ella naps. Ha! What mom would do that now, really? 😉 I will be getting my keester out of bed early enough to have a cup of coffee and a Psalm to start my day. If I can begin peaceful it’s more likely to continue longer. I will set “work hours” for myself when I get my editing and planning done and then just leave it. It’s far too easy to get sucked into the vortex of photo-playing when it’s so much fun!!! But then I find myself scrambling to keep up with other responsibilities and the stress mounts and the peace is gone. I’m going to start teaching the lads how to fold their own laundry so that I will have a couple helpers with some chores. Stick to my menu plans. Set tasks for certain days (bread baking) and just always do it on that day.
There are a lot of little steps that I can take to get it done. I know what I need to do, now I just need to do it. I think I’m ready. I’m certainly tired of life living me. I want to enjoy it, and live it, not just hang on for the ride. So here I go, off to find peace in the middle of my little, blessed, mess. 🙂