Allowing Spaces to Rest
I find late-March, April, and May the most exhausting months of the year. My feelings about these months have to do with several reasons. Springtime allergies in the South are notoriously challenging. The pine pollen and the blooming of so many trees, flowers, and bushes is intense here if you are a seasonal allergy sufferer. I get a lot of headaches and generally feel run-down. There are many end-of-school projects to do, ones that I don’t particularly love, like Science Fairs, and these come at the time when I feel mentally done with teaching and facilitating. And the combination of Easter alongside three family birthdays, our anniversary, and Mother’s Day adds a lot of celebratory planning and stress as well. By June, I am ready for my annual sabbatical month.
I have learned that with increased busyness, I must increase my rest. I guard the bookends of my day, first and foremost. I try to hold fast to my evening and morning routines because how I begin and end my days is what can make the difference in thriving or just surviving. In the past, my routines were always the first thing to go when stress or busy seasons came. I finally learned after crashing and burning many times, that the morning and evening routines, those bookends, have to be held non-negotiable and sacred. Those are the times where I find my rest in God, His plan, and His ways. In those routines I find breath, quiet, self-care (like brushing my teeth and washing my face), truth, grace, and calm. I sleep better. I parent better. I am better.
I make sure I have some space every afternoon to myself. When I had babies and toddlers, this naturally happened during their nap times. I would read and nap as well. As my children grew older, I instituted quiet hours for them where they would be alone in a space in our home with a few toys, books, or an audiobook. This would give us one pause in the day for everyone to “reset”. These days I allow them to game or play outside while I take an afternoon rest. This mid-afternoon pause gives me the strength for house clean-up, cooking dinner, and our nighttime activities. Building in pockets of daily rest refuels me as a way of life.
I am coming off of an intense few weeks and my calendar is filled from now until Mid-May. That is just the way of this season with boys in sports, Spring Break, hospitality, school projects, and family celebrations. There isn’t anything to cut out or necessarily say no to, so I have to be proactive and take the margins for rest. My home will be dirtier, house projects are at a standstill, and creativity will take more of a backseat or be channeled in other directions. That is okay. When we accept the season we are in, we can enter it with realistic expectations, and know that everything will eventually calm down again. I won’t push myself past the breaking point for a clean shower or toilet anymore, but instead, use the open spaces to refuel and decompress. They will get cleaned when the time comes, but it’s okay to let go.
Here’s to choosing rest,
Aimee