I’ve been thinking about writing this post for several weeks now… but wasn’t exactly sure HOW to go about writing it or WHEN would be the best time to publish it.
So since I’m just coming off a lovely (and very relaxing) Spring Break “staycation”, I figured now might be a good time to share a little bit about my past experiences with “burnout”… yes, even with all my to-do lists and organization, I still get overwhelmed!
I’ve always been the type of person who likes to be REALLY busy (I think you probably knew that already!)
I thrive when I’m busy and am actually more productive, more efficient, and more “alive” when I have a long to-do list. I can usually handle a lot of stress and don’t often get overwhelmed. However, in my adult life, I can think of two very distinct times when I felt completely overwhelmed and “burnt out”.
One was right before our wedding, the other was soon after Nora was born.
May, 2006
I was 20… and just days away from college graduation (think lots of final exams, paper, projects, etc). I was taking an overload of classes in order to graduate in just 3 years, working 2 part-time jobs, and finishing up my college internship.
Dave was living and teaching in California and we had just purchased our first house (I got power of attorney to sign off on the house for Dave). After “we” got the keys to our new house, I was trying to quickly do as much of the home renovations as possible before we got married and moved in (thankfully my dad helped a ton me since Dave was in California until mid June).
I was also planning all the last-minute details for our wedding, reception, and honeymoon… and did I mention that Dave was living in California! 🙂 Yes, he knows how lucky he is to have me!
Oh, and because college, 2 jobs, an internship, a new house, wedding preparations, and honeymoon plans weren’t enough, I decided that I wanted to train for a local 25K race!
Yup — I had a lot on my plate!
I was ALMOST to my breaking point and can remember sobbing on the phone to Dave simply because I couldn’t get the gas, electric, and water companies to properly switch the utilities into our name since we didn’t have a land line!
Thankfully, I managed to graduate, finish my internship and part-time jobs, get everything squared away for our wedding/honeymoon, complete MOST of our house projects, and get everything moved in before Dave moved back to MI… which was just one week before our wedding!
And yes, I finished the 25K race and was eventually able to get the utility companies to cooperate and use my cell phone instead of a land line!
I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to relax and “recover” from those stressful months on our 2-week honeymoon and throughout that entire summer (neither of our jobs started until September).
Fast-forward a few years…
January, 2012
I’m 26, I had a 5-week old newborn who cried ALL the time, refused to take any sort of extended nap, and was basically awake most of the night.
We had 2 high school international students living with us — one of which was causing enormous amounts of stress for Dave and me due to her bad attitude, refusing to obey our rules, slacking off in school, etc.
Dave just returned back to school after an extremely busy and stressful Christmas break (think tons of holiday parties with a newborn and an uncooperative teenager, lots of visits from family and friends who wanted to see Nora while they were in town, buying gifts, making food, late nights, cold weather, etc. etc.)
I had already been doing most of my blogging and Virtual Assistant work for a few weeks and was officially back from my short maternity leave with a local company I work for.
Add in general house work, meal planning, grocery shopping, doctor appointments, church and school activities, and once again, I had WAY too much on my plate.
Thankfully, Dave was absolutely wonderful and helped out as much as he could. Also, both our families helped a ton by making meals, watching Nora, and even bringing our international students to and from extra curricular activities.
We were also very fortunate that after a huge blow-out, Dave’s principal helped us remove the difficult student from our house in early February… which immediately made our home environment much more enjoyable and much less stressful.
However, I still felt like I just needed a break… and I think Dave did too.
Taking a Break
Since one international student moved out and our other student was planning a family trip to New York for Spring Break… Dave and I would have the house to ourselves for 10 days! And since Dave would be off of school that entire time, I decided it was the perfect week to take a break.
I took a break from almost all of my VA work, I took a break from my regular blogging, I took a break from social media, I hardly checked my email, I didn’t edit any photos, and I did as little cooking and cleaning as possible! I only made one to-do list all week, and most days; I didn’t even turn my computer on until late afternoon.
It was glorious, and just the break we needed! (you can read about what we DID do here)
Dave and I had a chance to relax and sleep in a little (when Nora let us), we had fun working on a few house/yard projects, we went for walks with Nora almost every day, we used several of our gift cards to splurge on going out to eat, and we spent lots time with each of our families.
I even took a nap!
I also had SO much fun documenting our week and sharing it here on my blog. It was a nice break from my “normal” post calendar and so far, I’ve received some very positive feedback. It also gave me a reason to take tons of pictures (I think I took over 200 pictures — which is totally abnormal for me!)
Over all, I would say that our week-long “staycation” was a complete success. Dave and I both feel refreshed, relaxed, and ready to get back to normal life again. I know we are both still looking forward to summer when he will be home all day again, but this break was just what we needed to make it through the last 2 months of school — and gear up for our kitchen renovation this summer 🙂
Susie says
make sure you take more breaks to enjoy your little one! They grow so fast!
Nessa says
Sometimes I need to get to complete burn out before I realize that I need a break. I think it happens when you thrive with a lot to do and have a crammed schedule. I am happiest when I am busy – so I don’t notice it fast enough when I am TOO busy. Thanks for the reminder to slow down a bit.
Colletta says
I’ve featured this post on my Misc. Finds Monday:
http://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2012/04/misc-finds-monday-41612.html
Colletta
Maria says
Hey Andrea!
I also went through an enormous burn-out after our twins were born. I started working part-time(I’m a teacher and as you know have work to do when arriving home!), we had to leave that too small apartment of ours and move into a house with so many works to do. It was like, working, taking the babies home, taking care of them, preparing dinner(my hubby comes home late at night), doing the housework and after the kids finally fell asleep going some painting or putting wallpaper, every single day!! It definitely was a hell of a time : excitement and feeling exhausted all the time.
How did I cope? I finally went to my doctor’s. He told me that everyone has their own limits AND THAT HUMANS AREN’T MACHINES!! I stopped working for at least five weeks. What did I do? I SLEPT a lot! and lived slowlier too. I tried to rediscover boreness and I also talked a lot! to mums!! Older women who had been through all this before. Then I felt it wasn’t like I wasn’t good enough to be a mum, but more like I had to find a new balance in my life! And having two children at once was a very big challenge! So I try not to live on too many to-do lists and try to have more time to enjoy life, to enjoy the moment.
thank you for sharing your own experience!
Bonnie K. says
I think I’m almost there now!!! I think the problem with burnout is that it usually hits when you’ve got a bunch of stuff on your plate that you really can’t say no to. For example, right now I’m running a small business, book keeping for a rental company, being a full-time Mom, selling our house so keeping it perfectly clean for showings, remodeling the house we’re moving to, blah, blah blah. Those are all things I can’t NOT be doing right now. But I also know that some of them will be over soon. That’s how I cope with soon-to-be-burned-out. I try to keep my head in today. Tomorrow will have enough for tomorrow. And I start saying No more often! Unfortunately to the fun stuff too. 🙂
Leone says
Kudos for keeping it real Andrea. I’ve experienced burnout in my life a few times. It’s frustrating and can be soooo discouraging. Thank God for the loving support of family and friends! And thank God we get through it to better times.
Starla says
I have earned that we all have a different level of endurance. What is too much for me may be easy-peasy for the next woman. And when I compare myself to another woman who can “do more and stay sane”, I find that burnout happens even faster! Over the years, I have learned my limits the hard way and my husband has helped me so much by encouraging me to be okay with my limitations. When we learn our limits and stay within them WITHOUT GUILT, our families will also be better for it!
Thanks for being honest, Andrea. We all need to hear that from each other occasionally. God bless you with grace for TODAY.
Jenny C. says
Hi Andrea – I really appreciate your openness. It’s good to let ourselves be human! I wanted to pass on a blog post I loved that spoke to me about similar stuff as you discussed – http://www.cindybultema.blogspot.com and it’s the post dated Wednesday, April 11, 2012. I hope you read it – good stuff (we all struggle with a full plate at times, and it’s good to let others know and to give and receive encouragement). Blessings, Jenny C.
Olivia @ Crossing Bridges says
You definitely needed that staycation, and I enjoyed reading about it! Your blog always keeps me smiling…as well as your sweet (though crying) baby. Her smile is so contagious!
I actually reached the burnout point this past fall, right before Thanksgiving. My husband & I had taken a lovely vacation in August 2010, just a couple of months after I started a new, very stressful position at work (reservations had already been made, etc). I worked VERY long, VERY inconsistent hours for the next 6 months, nearly all of which were spent on my feet, before finding a fabulous new position within the same company. That job started at the end of March, right as the company was completely restructuring my department. I had intended to take a few days off around Easter, when hubby (a teacher) was also off, but was asked to hold off until the summer when things settled down a bit. Two months later, just as I was getting the hang of things, my counterpart quit, so my workload doubled, and my chance of taking a summer vacation got flushed. After three months of a double workload, I got the pleasure of training my new counterpart and helping her get “ramped up.” Of course, she was painfully slow to catch on, so that took another two months.
In almost 6 months of work, 4 of them including a double workload, I took one day of PTO. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was practically dead to the world. I talked to my boss, and explained to her that if I didn’t take a couple of days off and GO somewhere, my brain was going to turn to mush. I do have a fabulous boss, so she offered to give me the entire week of Thanksgiving off–9 whole days in a row! My husband and I drove to Memphis to spend a few days just knocking around not doing anything in particular (but eating!), then spent a leisurely Thanksgiving with our families. It was amazing. I was able to turn my brain off and just relax–I didn’t even check my work email a single time!
I can’t imagine what those few months would have been like if I’d had a baby too! But I did learn a valuable lesson–I can feel that burnout coming now, and know that it means I need to take a weekend and turn my brain off before it shuts itself down!
deborah says
Your family picture at the beginning of the post is so good!
I’m glad you had a break and rest and some time with just your little family!
I am not a high energy person like it sounds like you are. I get stressed if I have too much on my to do list! I also get t.i.r.e.d. When my kiddos were babies, I needed naps most days. I’m also always amazed at what a goods night sleep does when I’m feeling totally exhausted at the end of a day!
BethA says
What a great post, Andrea! Thanks for sharing! It is so hard to experience that burnout feeling, but it sounds like you are doing well acknowledging it and taking steps to deal with it in a positive and proactive way!
My periods of burnout in the last couple years have come from finding myself a part of the “sandwich generation.” I am caring for two small children while also trying to care for again parents with health problems. Its so hard to be caught in the middle of kids and parents both needing your time and attention. You never quite feel like you are giving your best to anyone! But I’ve had to learn to set priorities and recognize my own limits. I’m still working on being ok with setting boundaries and saying no at times. But I think far more people than I realize are also working on that!
Thanks again for sharing!
Carolyn says
I like that you didn’t drop all of your commitments just because things got hard and extremely busy. That’s impressive! I admire that you work really hard (I’d never think of including yard work in a staycation!!). Some things that have helped me, since I had a major burnout after my second child was born, are: faith in God (He helps us to do far more than is possible if we try to do it all ourselves), priorities (my husband is always reminding me to focus on what really matters in the long run – husband, kids, etc), time to reflect/meditate/pray (whatever you do) and be quiet, let the unimportant/trivial things go, and to recognize at the end of each day that I’ve given my best and that I have to let the rest go. Be true to that inner voice that guides all of us. Good luck!
Nuria says
A new born and two international students is a very hard combination for anyone!!!!
I hope you feel better after this break!!!
And Nora is like a doll but….crying doll :)!
Best to you..
PD: my daughter is one of those international students in EEUU ,and sometimes I dont understand why you do this because is a hard and stressful work.I’m very grateful with her hostess family and I hope she has a good behavior!!!! ( I think so….)
kate says
Hi Patty,
My parents went through something similar a few years ago – within about a year, they both retired, I moved out of the house, and although my younger sister is still living there, at 26 years old and FT (under-)employed, she’s not really their responsibility at this point.
The solution they have found that seems to work well for them is to come up with things to do, and stay busy. In the past few years, my mother has taken a sign-language class at the community college for no other reason than she thought it sounded fun, learned to quilt and is currently working on her 6th full-sized project, she volunteers at the local elementary school one day a week with a program that pairs 1st graders with senior citizens to read together, she gets together with a group of church ladies for breakfast once every other week, and they have game night once a week at someone’s house.
My father is more of a putter-er and he has a woodshop in the garage, so he doesn’t have quite as active a social calendar as my mom, but next week he’s taking a week-long cooking class in the city, he regularly keeps up with Continuing Ed to keep his hand in his profession, and he pulled out his old trombone and joined the community band.
And they find random stuff to do together around the area. A couple weeks ago they took a drive out to the Harley Davidson factory which is apparently a couple hours away and gives tours. They’re not motorcycle people by any stretch of the imagination, but found it really interesting. They’re about 90 minutes outside of Philly, and the neverending debate among Philadelphians is whether the cheesesteak sandwiches are better at Pat’s or at Geno’s. So they drove to Philly for lunch one afternoon, Mom got a sandwich from one place, Dad got one from the other, and they did a taste test (one liked Pat’s, the other preferred Geno’s). There was an article in the newspaper last summer about the best ice cream parlors in the state, and the one in our town was rated #2, so they went in search of #1 (and found it lacking).
They also do a lot of traveling – some major trips, but also the occassional long weekend at a bed and breakfast in some cool place a few hours away. And they’re not afraid of a lazy day once in awhile – they worked hard for years, they’ve earned it.
My mother doesn’t clean weekly like she used to; she cleans when the house is dirty. Which is not nearly as often as when there were two teenagers living there!
Don’t cook every day. Cook maybe three nights a week, and eat leftovers. Some foods are definitely better the second day. Or cook a full-sized meal and freeze half of it to pull out later in the month if you don’t want to eat it two or three times in a row. Mix up a full meatloaf recipe, but put a half-sized loaf in the oven and the other half in the freezer. Eat simpler meals – soup and a sandwich instead of a casserole. Eating out is cheaper for two people than for a whole family – if you can afford it and you don’t want to make dinner, go out.
Sorry for such a long reply, but your post made me kind of sad, and my parents have been rockin’ the empty-nest thing so I wanted to share some of the things they’re doing.
Patty@homemakersdaily.com says
Thank you Kate.
I think we are still adjusting. We are definitely not sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves but things have definitely changed and we’re trying to regroup. Mostly me. I’ve spent most of my life taking care of kids.
I did start a blog last year and I write for that daily. My grandkyds live across the street so I play with them at least 2x a week. I probably need to look into some of that stuff your parents are doing. They remind me of my mom. I interviewed her for my blog and her theme song is that you shouldn’t sit home feeling sorry for yourself because there’s a lot to do out there. She is NEVER home!
Thank you for your comments. It did make me realize it’s time to shake things up a bit.
Brooke says
Andrea… I have been a HUGE “fan” (that always sounds/seems a bit creepy to me… ha!) of your blog, and have been following it for what seems like a LOOOONG time now. I don’t think I have ever commented on any of your fabulous posts (I apologize, I’m not a professional blogger… but, I know you all LOVE comments and how encouraging and supportive they can be…), I tend to just be a lurker. 🙂 At least, I can admit it, right?
Anyways… as I said, I rarely comment on any blogs… but, this post in particular is what, I believe EVERY SAHM, WAHM, Mom, Wife… NEEDS TO READ! For some reason, (at least in my experience) we put these “expectations” on ourselves to do it ALL! And, I have found, that I just can’t… unfortunately, that realization didn’t truly come until I experienced a HUGE BURNOUT… to the point of being hospitalized. I am a SAHM, with two little ones (ages 4 and 2.5). Both are incredibly active, and for the most part, I don’t have a lot of help throughout the day. My oldest is in preschool, 2 days p/week, for 2.5 hours. So… 5 hours total, sans one kiddo… while he is in school, I am doing Gymboree class with our youngest.
My husband is an attorney, so his hours are CRAAAAZY (to say the least), not to mention the ongoing travel he does.
I didn’t realize how much I was doing, or how much I was trying to do… until one day (so similar to what you described prior to your wedding)… I broke down into tears, which turned into sobbing, which turned into a full blown panic attack. Thankfully, my husband was home at the time (one would think I’d be taking advantage of the extra hands… ha!), and after speaking with my primary care physician, my husband was told to take me to the hospital.
I was stunned. Yes, so stunned that a Dr. would tell my husband to take me to the hospital b/c I am experiencing a “bit of stress”, that the sobbing continued!
After a night spent in the hospital, and having my Dr. come in and really sit down and have a serious discussion with myself AND my husband… it was then we were able to come up with a working a feasible plan. A plan in which would work for our entire family, but incorporating the MUCH NEEDED help.
We now have a fabulous team of women who come in & clean our home every 2 weeks. My in laws (who are amazing, but had no idea how burnt out I was, or how much was on my plate) have agreed to take the children one day p/week, in order for me to run errands, do the grocery shopping, etc. And… most importantly… for the first time, I don’t feel guilty that I’m not doing it all.
I cannot tell you how wonderful I think it is that you have the courage to share your experience, as well as explain how you’ve dealt with burn out.
I realize my “story” is rare, and fairly extreme… but, had I known how to deal with (or even acknowledge) burn out in the beginning, I don’t think it would have become so extreme.
I love your blog! And, truly one of the things I love the most is your honesty!
ps. I was wondering why you only had one International Student now… thanks for the clarification, and I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work out. I hope it was something you can look back on (someday…) as a learning experience for all.
Best to you, Dave and your gorgeous Nora!
Andrea says
Wow Brooke– thanks for sharing your experience as well!
Needtochange says
What a lovely post to read. Its refreshing to hear the ‘real’ life of people who you admire. I can relate. The last month has been like that for me. We have been in the final stages of building our house, then moving into finished rooms, taking care of my MIL affairs while she is overseas for 3 months, stressed kids with serious school work and general joys of being a work at home mum with two kiddies.
Sharon says
Hi Andrea. I’ve been a ‘lurker’ on your blog and have really enjoyed learning about you, your life and what you do for a living. As a fellow of the organizational sisterhood ;), I can relate to much that you do. I just wanted to say – next to your postings on Nora – this was probably the most revealing, insightful and valuable post I had read from you. We are all human .. no one is super woman .. and you showed a side of you that everyone can relate to. You continue to inspire me even when I am dealing with my own challenges in life. Best to you 🙂
Patty@homemakersdaily.com says
I’m not sure what I’m experiencing is “burnout” exactly but it’s similar. I’m 50 years old. My son and daughter-in-law and their 2 kids lived with us for 1-1/2 years and moved out six months ago. Our daughter got married and moved out 5 months ago. We are now empty nesters. I started my blog almost a year ago.
But I’m struggling a bit. I don’t want to have a to do list anymore. I don’t want to clean house every Monday. I don’t want to go to the grocery store and cook every day. I’m sick of all of it. I worked hard all the years I was raising the kids and now I don’t want to do it anymore.
At the same time, I really do like structure. I don’t want to fly by the seat of my pants or let my house go or never cook dinner. All those things are important to me. I probably need to shake things up a bit but I’m not sure how or what to do. I know it’s a transition time – probably normal for new empty nesters – but it feels like burnout and I don’t like it.
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing Patty — and I’m not sure if you saw, but Kate had a really nice response to your comment (but she didn’t reply directly so you probably didn’t get a notification). Anyway, if you have a minute, you should read what she wrote… very wise words!
Patty@homemakersdaily says
Thanks for the heads up.
Amber says
Andrea,
I just wanted to say thanks for “keeping it real.” I love this blog because you are honest and forthcoming, and we can all relate!! Keep up the great work!
Laurel says
Yes, I think that all of us who are stay home, work from home moms get burnt out from time to time. I had pretty much the same end of college experience that you had. Another time I felt the same way was when I was finishing my Master’s Degree, teaching school full time, teaching 45 private flute lessons a week all while having really bad morning sickness with our first baby. Not having the benefit of having family close by to lend a hand makes me want to let you know how incredibly blessed you are to have that. We went on to have 4 kids and I could have really used that help from family especially when I had 3 babies that were under the age of 5 at one point. I’m sorry to hear about the negative experience you had with your international student. You never let on that it was a bad situation. That must have been really hard. Is Nora’s crying any better now that she’s on a new prescrition? I had the weirdest thought a couple of weeks ago after I had read one of your blogs (which I look forward to reading every day, by the way 🙂 i think you were talking about how you keep your heat down. Do you think it could be that she’s uncomfortable because she’s cold? Maybe you will think me ridiculous for asking, but I know that babies lose heat much faster than adults do. That’s what I heard anyway when we were having babies (of course our youngest is now 12 so that information may have changed!) anyway, it was just a thought and wouldn’t that be something if it were as simple as that 🙂 glad you a wonderful week off.
Andrea says
Thanks Laurel, Dave is also a teacher/coach and just finished his master’s degree so I know how stressful those type of jobs can be too!
And about the heat in our house — believe it or not, Nora actually cries more when she’s TOO hot. Sometimes, when we can’t figure out what’s wrong, we just start taking her clothes off or put her in front of a fan… and it often helps. We do have a small heater in her room, but she sleeps in very light-weight PJ’s because otherwise she gets too hot.
Crazy I know. I wish it would be as simple as that — I’d crank the heat up to 80 if I had to 🙂
Holly F. says
I am so happy you are doing better! I was wondering if you still had your international students since I hadn’t seen you mention them recently (but I don’t read every single day). I was hoping things were ok. I think we all experience burnout and you have had some pretty huge things to deal with and changes in your life the last few years. Even just one of those things (buying a home, remodeling, exchange students, a new baby, etc.) is enough to upset the balance. I really appreciate you sharing this, because it shows that none of us are invincible, even super-organized people like you. (And, to be honest, it makes me feel like I’m ok, even though I get overwhelmed at times. We ALL do.) You are an inspiration. Love your blog.
Andrea says
Thanks Holly — yeah, I haven’t talked much about the International students because of all the issues we were having with the one. Fortunately, our other student is great and we are having a really good experience with her.
Firesparx says
I too am a person that feels the most comfortable when my calendar is mostly full of activities and a full to-do list. My husband on the other hand is the complete opposite and has trouble understanding me (and vise versa). While people like us can handle more on the go than the average person, it doesn’t take too much to set us over the edge and into the burnout area. It’s seems counter-intuitive, but I know I am entering burnout when I take an evening off and plan to do nothing, but find I can’t fully enjoy it and end up being more stressed; I can’t seem to relax with the weight of all the things on my plate weighing down on me.
Noelle McCann says
Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve only recently starting reading your blog. I was sort of “hooked” when I realized our babies were due around the same time. (My son was born Nov 14th.) I’m always in awe as I read your posts. You seem to be able to accomplish so much! It’s almost as if you have an secret stash of hours that the rest of us don’t have! That’s why I appreciate your honesty about getting burnt out once in a while. I recently read something that I loved…..It’s easy to get down on ourselves when we compare our behind-the-scenes footage with everyone else’s highlight reel. Thanks for letting us see your “behind the scenes” footage today. 🙂
Andrea says
Oh Noelle, I WISH I had a few extra hours! I do love being busy and I’ve nearly perfected the art of multi-tasking… but yes, my week-long break was really nice!
I love your comment about “behind-the-scenes” footage and “highlight reel” — so true!
Sarah @ Sarah's Deals says
Burnout is rough, and I think especially hard when you have such a public life/job.
I’ve hit the point in the past as well and it’s hard to step away without guilt. I wasn’t that I didn’t think I needed or even that I didn’t deserve the time off, it was that I was letting people down who had come to rely on regular things from me.
After taking the time off and coming back more focused and driven than before, I knew I had made the right decision and don’t look back now when realizing a break time has come.
Roxanne says
Your pre-wedding experience sounds quite similar to what I’ll be going through in the next couple of months- finishing up school, graduating, immediately starting a new job, finalizing wedding preparations for early July and merging all of our stuff into one household! You obviously lived to tell the tale, so that gives me a bit of hope for getting through all these “life events” all at once 🙂 I’m trying to brace myself by taking care of as much as I can now- before things get too crazy- but I’ll probably still have some overwhelming moments… maybe I should just bookmark this page for quick reference!
Andrea says
Yes Roxanne, you’ll get through it — just remember to TRY and enjoy the time too 🙂
Kelly Braman says
Oh, gosh! I do not know a single mama who has not experienced this at some point or another:) Good for you for realizing you needed a break! When we put too much on our plate we ultimately end up not only hurting ourselves, but our family. New changes in our life are a great time to reflect and remember what is most important:) Good luck on finding that balance…I think mine is hiding under a pile of clean clothes that need to be folded;) ha *hugs
Andrea says
So true Kelly… thanks for the encouragement!!
jessica kiehn says
DEFINITELY!!!
My life word is BALANCE. We have to find that perfect balance to create a clear, steady, and safe environment because that’s where everyone thrives. But if our schedules and to-do’s and desires to have things in perfect order start controlling US rather than us controlling and maintaing them…it will always leave to burnout.
I’ve learned over the years of becoming a wife and stay-at-home Mom….DO YOUR BEST. Try, and be excellent in what you do, but leave it at that. That’s all you can do. You can’t always do perfect. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t.
I never ever want my children to look back and see me as the Mom who was always in my own world tackling projects and cleaning and plopping them in front of the TV or telling them to go out and play while I work. THERE MUST BE A BALANCE. My children need to see (and will) that we need to work and take care of the things God has entrusted us with. They need to know responsibility and workmanship and excellence. But not at the expense of my PRESENCE, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Balance…it’s a beautiful thing that we must always strive after, and I truly believe with a balance you don’t get burnout because you’re not taking on more than you can handle.
Thanks for sharing:)
Jessi says
I’m glad your staycation has helped refresh you! I too like to stay incredibly busy; it makes me happy to have things to do and be able to accomplish them.
But I just recently realized I’m experiencing a bit of burnout right now too with my job. It’s been incredibly stressful for two months. Oddly enough the thing that is keeping me sort of sane is blogging. I just started my blog in the beginning of February, and I enjoy coming home and spending time writing each night. It’s not big enough to stress me out; I don’t get bajillions of comments or emails like you do 🙂 And I find it relaxing to spend time thinking up post ideas, or crafting, or organizing, or cooking, etc.
I’m also telecommuting more often, which helps because it cuts out the commute time, and I can make myself lunch even when I’m in meetings from 10am to 3pm!