This has been a really hectic month for me, and the next two months are even crazier. Last night, J and I sat down with my Outlook calendar and planned out every week, every work trip, every weekend plan from now through April. It was necessary, but it freaked me out nonetheless. I love quiet weekends at home, nothing more planned than a trip to the park and reading in our pajamas, and those will be few and far between.
I’ve been struggling with being the person in the marriage who is gone so often. I know women whose husbands travel frequently, but it feels different when it’s the wife. Maybe because even though we split household duties equally, I’ve always felt like there are “mom responsibilities” that I should be home to provide. And when I am home, I’m often so busy and exhausted, I’m not giving J the attention and love I really need to give him. For whatever reason, I am doing a much better job focusing my limited time on the kids than on him.
One thing that is helping me deal with this stress is a new part of my daily routine. I’m not a morning person, so instead I’ve been taking a little break late morning to make a healthy smoothie and to write in my journal. I start each week with the dates of the week, and then as the days progress, I write a few things each day that have made me happy. Some are big, some are little, many are totally silly and ridiculous, but just having them down on paper to refer back to is giving me much-needed big picture perspective. I can see that even though there have been plenty of lows, there are highs that I might have missed or glossed over if I hadn’t stopped to note them. Here are a few from the past week:
1. Norah took great care of me when I was sick, bringing me handmade art and her “sick bear.”
2. Found out Lena Dunham’s tattoos are all from favorite children’s books!
3. The cauliflower and pancetta at 100 Wines!!
4. Girlfriends who want to take our friendships “to the next level” and get emotionally deeper.
5. A friend who volunteered to go with me for my birthday tattoo if Jen can’t make it down for a visit.
6. The gorgeous sunset I saw with the kids Wednesday night.
7. Starting a new, totally engaging book.
8. Making friends with neighbors as a result of my sunny strolls with the dog.
9. The kids wolfing down brussels sprouts at dinner.
10. Three terrific business meetings this week.
Daily smoothies make me happy as well. Here’s the recipe for my go-to this week. If you grew up drinking Orange Julius at the mall food court, you’ll love it!
Orange Creamsicle Smoothie
2 cups almond milk
1 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 frozen banana
handful of ice cubes
Mix in blender and enjoy!
What’s making you happy this week? I’d love to hear.
*image credit Averie Cooks
OMG – that smoothie looks soooo deelish, I want to lick the screen! HA HA!
And I love your “happy” list. It’s a good one! Things making me happy this week:
* Really good, honest and thoughtful chats with hubby about our relationship and what is working / what isn’t working and how we can make it better.
* Going to bed at 9:30pm all this week and waking up before the alarm feeling well-rested. FINALLY!
* The weather finally warming up
* Less TV and more books and magazines
* Daily yoga
I love these! Especially the yoga and the more reading
But I’m so happy for you that you and your husband are communicating well, too. That’s awesome.
I love your list as well! And I was craving something cold and sweet and that smoothie looks delicious! I wish I had the ingredients.
I love your list. One of my best friends and I have been sharing our 3 things that make us happy every day (well, every work day) via email (we live in different cities) for about a year now. It really is a good way to see the big picture. This year we decided to save our daily 3 things (so the nerd that I am created a spreadsheet and I log them every day). I have predictions of what the most common themes will be, but it is going to be fun to go back and look at them periodically this year. Because this is a friend that I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly with, it’s nice to start our days with the good as a reminder that even if the bad gets worse or ugly gets uglier, we still can reflect on what makes us happy/feel blessed, etc.
Things that made me happy this week:
- pilates!
- did a 9.5 mile run and felt great afterwards
- unplugging more
- playing “pre-school” with B – she was the teacher and I got such a glimpse into what a day at her pre-school is like — the little things she picks up on and what she modeled as the teacher were so cute.
- unplugged time at the wild animal park with my girls
- restaurant week at prep kitchen little italy with 3 girlfriends
- book club at a new venue!
You’re cracking me up that you log yours on a spreadsheet! That must be the scientific mind
Mine are jotted-down ramblings! I’m totally awed by the 9 mile run. Wow! And love the rest. Isn’t Prep Kitchen great? Sorry to have missed book club, though.
I feel your struggle, mama. I don’t travel as much as you do but sometime just feel the sheer pressure and constant influence of my work plays a similar role….sigh. But we wouldn’t be the mamas we are without it, right? And I love a look at the positive, do it on the blog as well and it’s always a good reminder, even when it feels tough to find a few things
Hello, your articles here We Can’t Always Drink Cocktails | Such Small Steps to write well, thanks for sharing!