August hit me head-on this year, as it often does and I’ve been trying to keep my head above water ever since. While I’ve been trying to commit to finding moments of rest and recovery this month, that has been challenging.
Loved
We had a pretty miserably hot July but August is actually ending on a cooler note. Low 80s temps have been quite pleasant with a few days in the high 79s even. (I realized I now sound like a weather report, but seriously the weather was one of the best parts of this month.)
We also had an unexpected visit from my cousins last week! One who lives in Florida and another in Japan. The reason was sad (an extended family funeral on their mother’s side of the family) but it was a lovely chance to see them.
Accomplished
I have gotten a TON done this month, most of which was work related. But I am also, almost finished editing the first draft of my manuscript! This has been a long time coming (painfully long) and I’ve not met goals before so I’ll be pleased when I’m finally finished and I can pass this project off to my writer’s group and other beta readers.
My husband also started a new job! After six months of being a contractor and no assurance of whether his contract would be extended this has been a major positive for our family. Though I’m not sure either of us can take much credit for this as an accomplishment. The whole process began with an email from a recruiter and in less than two weeks he had a job offer. Fastest process ever! It felt very much directly be God.
My husband was also showered with praise and kind words when he gave notice to his team at his contract position. He is fortunate to leave behind exclusively positive regards.
Improved upon/Needs improvement
We seem to have lost all of our family routines over the summer. I’ve been trying to get my kids back into school mode and I’ve been met with large scale resistance. The prospect of having to do anything except lay around all day (and play board games and video games) made them even more feral, if that was possible. I find myself walking from room to room picking up after them or stepping over messes. Mind you, these are not toddlers. My youngest is almost nine and my other two are twelve and fifteen.
I love a good routine and while my children’s extra special, high needs brains thrive on them, they will fight routines (and thus me) almost to the death to avoid them.
We need some major improvement in this area both my own sanity and probably theirs as well. This is the part of the new year that can be the hardest. While I try to maintain some sense of structure over the summer, the more I work, the less time I have to keep everyone else on track.
We’re trying to put some plans in place so that we can all find our fall groove.
Noticed
This month has be very aware of my limits. I was telling a friend this week what we had on the calendar and I could feel my stress mounting. I simultaneously keyed up and exhausted. My body is not enjoying this level of stress at all. I know it’s not forever. I fact, I probably knew this week would be like this, because these are two my busiest weeks all year (without the addition of things like sudden visits from out of town guests).
I noticed how my heart rate was increasing, my breathing felt funny and I felt the urge to scream and run away. Yikes! Definitely a stress response. I’m trying to practice ways of managing that stress even when I can’t escape from it. But being aware of it is the first step.
I’m really looking forward to September which is usually when things get into a manageable groove (and the weather becomes more pleasant too). There is something about new beginnings that I find easy to embrace. The slate is fresh we all get to begin again.
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