Embrace Change
This September feels very much like a new beginning to me. In many ways. We recently hired a maid to help with chores and kids and that is such a positive change for me. You know this mental charge we talk so much about these days? It is now reduced by half (at least!) since I don’t have to think about laundry and dishes and cleaning the garden and dusting the shelves anymore. The biggest change for me is clearly the fact that my four sons are now at school all day and that means time for myself. Lots of time. So much time that I cannot believe how much I can accomplish in a day. That also means I have to focus and be careful how I use all that time. I could easily waste it watching all these good Netflix series people talk about on Facebook. I could go to the mall, to the beach, to the coffee shop. Oh I could. Being that free feels so good, I really could sip lemon-mint drinks outside all day. But. No. I want to do something with my life. At last. Life uninterrupted I was mothering and housekeeping for most of the past 15 years. I could rarely concentrate on long term projects. I was starting so many things and was constantly interrupted. I was interrupted when I was eating, sleeping, peeing, painting, talking on the phone, reading, watching something, writing blog posts. And of course I still am. But not all the time. I realized this is the biggest blessing of having my days for me. Being able to do whatever I’m doing uninterrupted. I always thought I was a quitter and blamed myself for not being able to finish things and complete projects. Duh. Try to accomplish anything when you have four kids and a house to take care of. It took me many years to understand that I wasn’t a super woman. I felt guilty because I couldn’t also be a provider for my family. How some women can gracefully do it is still mystery to me. Hats off to you if you do.
New beginnings So this new stage of my life is a new start. A blank canvas. I have a lot of resolutions and ideas but I decided to concentrate mainly on a few important points:
Use time wisely. Wasting time has a devastating effect on the heart and on my faith. It doesn’t mean I will not rest or enjoy some free time with my friends and family. But everything should be done with a meaningful purpose.
Be organized and plan. It’s a hard one for me but I know I can, now that I have help. I started to make menus again after stopping for a few years and that is more helpful than I thought. I’m also working on a weekly schedule that includes what’s important: work, faith, family.
Embrace trials, difficulties and unforeseen events. I have four kids. I suffer from a chronic disease. I’m an immigrant. I miss my mom. I don’t have a lot of good friends in my new country. Life happens. Lice. Ants. Traffic. Flu. Flare-up. Embrace it. All of it.
Complete tasks. And ideally, finish one before starting another.
Now let’s hope the energy and motivation will stay high and if/whenever they happen to go down, I pray I will have the courage to keep going. Incha’Allah. How do you feel about change? Do you resist? Do you let go? Do you embrace it?
