Or at least sometimes I do. It’s been a busy summer. And I worked hard to not sign up or be committed to much this summer. It’s a good thing I didn’t because I think if I had I would just have gone and hid in my closet about the second week of June and never come out. I have signed stacks and stacks of paperwork, sent countless emails, organized and re-organized, driven all over the place, mailed a gazillion things through the mail all over the country and throughout the world, run crafts and learned how to teach cheerleading, literally ran miles upon miles, pulled weeks, trimmed roses, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not to mention work has been a lot more this summer for a number of different reasons, the few commitments that we had all fell on the same impossible weeks, and all in all it’s just been a little too much.
Not to mention life with littles is just hard. Someone always needs picked up, cleaned, fed, picked up again, washed, pulled off the top of the playhouse, and some combination of all of the above. I am usually ready for bed time long before they are. Conversations are constantly interrupted and usually never get started. And as a result relationships are rarely built or made stronger which makes this time all the harder and lonely. And I have a number of more years with littles. And don’t get me wrong, I love each goofy little person in my life and the two that are coming and wouldn’t trade a moment for anything, even if someone always needs something or multiple someones need somethings, but to all the parents of littles out there, I hear you, this is a long, hard, lonely, tough time. It’s also remarkably sweet and precious and goes too fast at the same time.
But in the midst of all of that and then some, I needed a pause. And so for a few short days I got a taste of that pause in one of the most gorgeous places I know. And so one night as the sun set, the full moon rose over the lake and the camp fire crackled in front of me I just took some long overdue deep breaths and just paused. I prayed for the peace and strength and hope that I need to continue to get through each and every day. And so as life continues I feel a little more refreshed and ready to take on each day. Thankfully not on my own strength, but ever grateful for the moment to just pause and breathe.
Hiking Mommy 