Lighten Up and Rest Already

I have recently noticed about myself that I don't rest well. Especially since I had the twins. I can hardly remember a day when I wasn't sick that I just sat, laid in bed, didn't do much, etc. This is very hard to do with three small children, especially when the twins were younger. There was a routine and, although I would rest during scheduled naptimes, the routine did require a lot of my time and energy. But now that the twins are on their way to being two and a half and Liv is one, I do have so much more flexibility to rest. To just say that I'm putting everything on hold and not doing much.

I have put a lot of pressure on myself to be activity oriented. I do want our children to have a fun childhood filled with memories of doing fun things on the weekends and while they were at home with me. I really do. But I'm starting to see that I also need to seriously take some down time and teach them how to be still, how to rest. I mean, if the Lord rested on the seventh day, I think there is definitely something to how much we need rest as well. So I'm truly trying to learn how to let the schedule go, how to sit back, enjoy my coffee, enjoy my kids and not do much at all.

I'm now 31 years old. Craziness. I still feel like I'm 21. Don't get me wrong. I look in the mirror and know I'm not 21. Ha! But I do still feel that way most of the time. The twenties were intense for me. Lots  of achieving. Lots of striving. Degrees. Pregnancies. Kids. Moves. Career decisions. Busy. Intense. The thirties have been so great because so much of that striving is done. Which means it's time to put on my big girl panties and have some fun. Raising kids is serious work. But, it also brings great opportunities for a more serious gal like myself to laugh large belly laughs, to sing at the top of my lungs, to dance, to play, and to discover. Fun.

This has been my favorite part about this new stage and I hope that amidst the exhaustion and the hard work of training and disciplining, I can lighten up a little bit and laugh my way through my thirties. By the time my thirties are over, I will have almost teenagers. It will go so fast. I know it will. The days are long but, oh, the years will fly.

So, today, Saturday, I have nothing planned. Nothing. Except to laugh a little more and maybe even dance some too!