Forgive thyself

It took months, but finally, FINALLY, we are just about settled into our new digs in Chicagoland. It’s been a hard road. Thanks, fans, for waiting around for me to get around to posting again.

Which pulls me back around to this post. Sometimes life gets the better of you. Sometimes there’s just, frankly, way too much going on to fit into a 24-hour day. And sometimes there are days, and weeks, and months, and years that go on like this. It’s OK. We’ve all been there.
In the process of the move, I found, toward the end, that I just didn’t have it in me to maintain an everything-from-scratch lifestyle. Raising four kids on my own, dealing with the emotional Sturm und Drang (both mine and the kids’), and packing the place on my own … it was a lot. Obviously, I quit blogging. We started grabbing takeout more. I didn’t make bread once. And (shudder) in the last two weeks, I quit making cleaning supplies. I was overwhelmed.
And it’s OK. I gave myself permission to deal with the situation, to be busy, to grieve, to try to get my feet wet in a new area. I’m still doing it, too, but I find that I am ready to reclaim the things that make me ME. And so this is a perfect time to share these thoughts.

Many of us don’t give ourselves permission to think about how to play the cards we’re dealt. Many of us see sadness and anger as weaknesses, and we try to bury them under layers of work. Or, if we take time to indulge that moment (or those moments) of sadness or anger, we pile guilt upon ourselves for not doing more work, for allowing ourselves to work through those emotions. Why do we do this to ourselves? Is it healthy in the long run?

Don’t do that to yourselves. Do what you can. We all come from different life stations, have different life experiences, have different demands on your time. Can’t do it all? Then don’t. Do what you can. Do what you are able. And forgive yourself all the rest. You’ll never believe how much better you feel.