Give Yourself a Break
by Michelle Jester
as seen in Modern Grace Magazine
Often we are running around trying to be super human, because we feel we need to. Tasks that are never-ending from running errands, cleaning and cooking to basic personal hygiene can take a toll on our bottom line: TIME. That’s not to mention work and taking care of the other humans and animals in our lives.
With the responsibility of juggling everything it’s easy to fall into guilt when things slip through the cracks. However, life will go on. Mistakes happen. My kids are grown now, but when they were younger we were lucky sometimes if we made it home in time to eat the hamburgers we rushed through the drive-thru to get, before we had to head back out the door for one practice or another.
Here’s the good news: we all survived the mistakes. And I learned better time management in the process. I keep a schedule that is made weeks, if not months, out and it stays pretty packed. However, I know not everything is going to go according to the plan. I learned that’s okay.
First, I stopped beating myself up about the things I couldn’t control. Flat tire? Oh well, theatre practice will have to do without one of the kids tonight. I stopped getting frustrated with situations that were out of my control.
Second, I learned to better control the things I could. Running late in the morning because that extra fifteen minutes of ironing was disturbing my flow, was an easy fix. I bought wrinkle spray and quickly found that a few spritz on my clothes and a few minutes in the dryer did wonders!
Last, I learned to give myself a break. Not to beat myself up over all the mistakes, being late, missed family dinners, or forgotten field trips. Maintaining a balance mentally is far more important to you and your family than making it to every practice on time.