Getting My Life Back After Having Two Children

Henry turned five this past weekend. Tate will be three in July.

And just this week, I started to feel like myself again. Like my old self. My pre-baby self!

This week I:

Talked to a good friend on the phone several times
Went running twice
Went to yoga
Started planning my summer Reflection & Rejuvenation Retreat
Started reading a book about healing my inner child

It looks so pithy when I write it out in a bulleted list, but it feels huge! I feel like the past five years I’ve only been able to choose three of five things from this list: big work, family, sleep, exercise, creative endeavors, emotional growth, or friends. I routinely chose the first three.

And this week I got to choose all of them!

It feels like a major milestone.

What a huge relief!

As you know, this parenting journey has been hard for me. It’s a relief to feel like I’m starting to find a semblance of balance.

I think the trick is making sure to keep your eye on the vision of what you need in your life on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. It’s much easier to figure out how to squeeze it in if you know what you want.

Phew!

3 Comments

Sasha-Ingenue

February 23, 2016 at 7:25 pm Reply

Wow! Me too! Shane is almost 28 months old (only 1 kid here… so far). And just this week I have noticed a big shift in how my days are filled. I paid for a membership at a yoga studio and plan to attend at 2-3 classes/week. I've been able to sit and read more. Honestly, another big shift just 36 hours ago was deactivating my facebook account. I also deleted to ap from my phone. This has been HUGE. I can't recommend it enough. It has taken me nearly a year to stop thinking about it and actually DO it. Sad, I know. But wow. I am amazed by how much "more" time I have. I can also feel myself being more present and I'm less irritable at home because I don't have that sense of being interrupted while scrolling through news feeds. Congrats on finding your old self. I can relate, it truly is a wonderful thing to once again feel like the person you remember being before life changed so completely. Sending excited and empathetic mama love.

Cali Cole

February 24, 2016 at 4:23 pm Reply

How funny…I clicked to comment and see Sasha (hi, Sasha), the person who introduced me to this blog! Congrats on feeling like yourself again. It is a struggle that I think so many people are too proud to admit, or don't require any "me" time. I have begun starting and completing art projects again and it feels so good to get my creative juices flowing. I agree with Sasha, getting off of facebook has been a huge help to my level of motivation. I was watching a news story on where 1000 facebook users gave it up for a month, and after a week, 88% (or something around that number) felt better and happier with their lives. I have been off since November 2015 and it was the catalyst to creating a more happier/healthier me! Way to go, girls!