Do you ever feel in a motherhood rut?

I mean, I do pretty much the same thing every single day:

Get up.  Have first blogging time.  Fix breakfast.  Clean the kitchen.  Have Bible time.  Begin school subjects.  Work with one girl, then another, then another.  Fix lunch.  Clean the kitchen.  Clean the house.  Have rest/blogging time.  Exercise.  Do whatever activity we have for that day of the week.  Fix dinner.  Clean the kitchen.  Read books.  Get the girls ready for bed.  Time with John.  Blogging time. Go to bed.

Don’t get me wrong….I love having a schedule and I feel so blessed by the life God has given me.

But at some point during the last few years, I lost my love of play — spontaneous, in-the-moment play.

I alluded to it in my goals for 2013, but I feel like the old, burnt-out mom.  The un-fun mom.   The I’ve-lost-my-sparkle, who-am-I-and-what-did-you-do-with-my-real-self mom.

I wear many hats during the day, and I’m sure you can relate.

• Teacher
• Rule-enforcer
• Fight breaker-upper
• Boo-boo healer
• Bathroom scrubber
• Chef
• Family organizer
• Passionate husband-lover
• Animal caretaker
• Dish washer
  
• Financial planner
• Head house picker-upper

With all of those duties, it’s easy for me to feel bogged down.  I’m living by the checklist–trying to get everything done, make everyone happy, keep my house clean (ha!) and live up to the ideals I have for myself.  I get so tied up in the things I have to do, I forget to just be.

That’s why I picked these two words to remind me what I want to remember during 2013:

Just play.

********************************************

My youngest daughter wasn’t feeling well this weekend.  I think she must have picked up the icky bug going around town, and one afternoon she was pretty pathetic–on the couch, staring at the ceiling, being extremely mopey.

The next day, she was still struggling with a cough and some breathing issues, but she didn’t seem to let them affect her.  She literally spent the day skipping around, twirling in her skirt, humming a little tune.

Oh, how often I find myself feeling more like the sick girl on the couch, then the sick girl whirling through life.  She didn’t feel perfect, but she was tired of being on the couch.  She had to get up and move.   

I want to be like that girl, and I’m inviting you to join with me over the next five days.

To just play.

To have some fun with your family.

I’m not planning spectacular things.  There are no rules (other than no technology allowed).  I’m sitting down with the girls and letting them be spontaneous.

I’m forcing myself off the couch…and onto the floor.

 

P.S.  Unfortunately, I still have a checklist.  🙂

• Lighten up.
• Live in the moment.
• Be spontaneous.
• Do something new.
• Just play.

 

 

This post is part of the iHomeschoolNetwork January 2013 Hopscotch!  There are tons of topics, so be sure to check out the other posts by these lovely ladies: 

 

Shared at Show & Share Saturday at I Can Teach My Child