How was your spring break last week? Did you do anything fun, or go on any adventures? For our spring break, I wanted to push the pause button on our life and feel like I could catch my breath for a minute. Having our schedule more clear was helpful and very appreciated, but I ended up needing to run more errands than I had expected and then when I was home there was so much catch up to do that I felt like I blinked and then the next week was already upon us. Wait a minute. What? How could time possibly have flown by that quickly? How could our life be moving that fast? And what about my spring break fantasy of taking a day off, or even an afternoon, to let myself off the hook and regenerate with some knitting, or read a book (unheard of), or just get lost in a creative project? 

I may not have gotten the kind of break that I had dreamed of, where I emerged a regenerated and refreshed being, but I did have a very productive week and I was really glad that I got so much done. I tackled a lot of cleaning projects around the house that I really needed to do, and that always does a lot of for my stress levels. All winter it was a scramble to keep up, and some of the deeper cleaning fell by the wayside, so it felt especially satisfying to finally get the kitchen floor mopped after a few months of cringing at it whenever I walked in the room. I was also very happy to work on orders, get caught up on some paperwork, give the boy an overdue haircut, and vacuum out the car.

The biggest cause for celebration, though, was when Jeff and I finished up our taxes. Jeff had been busy working on our taxes while I was busy with those other things, and the week before that getting things rolling on getting all the receipts organized. I helped him a little, mostly at the end, and when they were finally finished we let out a sigh of relief. Jeff had wanted to do our taxes in January this year, but our winter wasn’t conducive for that, sometimes things don’t go according to plan and I’m just grateful we got them wrapped up before the deadline.

When I was talking with a friend about taxes the week before, she was surprised that it would take us any time at all, but doing taxes when you’re self-employed is an entirely different thing, there’s a lot to keep track of. We’re getting more organized each year, so that helps, but it’s still a big job and one we are always relieved to finish. I really appreciate all the time and energy Jeff put into it, this year, and every year. When the taxes were finally wrapped up this year, we decided it called for a celebration and announced an impromptu movie night and made big bowls of popcorn.

We’re seeing signs of spring around here. The daffodils are blooming in the yard, and the trillium in the forest are as beautiful as ever. We hear the frogs croaking outside more and more, and the hummingbirds are visiting the garden more frequently. It seems each day new birdsong joins the chorus in the woods around us. …It feels good to be here writing. I’ve missed blogging as regularly, I’ve missed you guys in this quiet little part of the world that is this blog. I know that I haven’t written here as often and I don’t want you to worry when it’s quiet here, but I can’t make any promises that there won’t sometimes be longer gaps between posts. I have a lot on my plate at this point in my life, I wear a lot of hats, and it’s challenging to find the time to sit down and write anything longer than a short blip. I can tell you, though, that I do plan to keep writing here, and that if you love visiting this space I hope you will continue to do so, even if it’s less frequently that we “get together” for a chat.

Jeff said recently that I expect way too much from myself. I told him I didn’t know what in the world he was talking about. I only expect myself to wake up super early completely rested and refreshed, have an incredible amount of energy all day that never wears out, keep a perfectly spotless house, make gourmet meals from scratch in half the time it should take, be one hundred percent caught up on homeschooling at all times, run errands all around while still managing to keep up at home, be a total rockstar for our business and work more hours than there is in a day, do twenty different tasks all at one time, drop everything to be there for everyone whenever they need me, and still find the time to squeeze in some meditation and yoga at the end of the day. Ha!

But seriously, though, I have been noticing my tendency to over-commit myself and try to say yes to way too many things. I’m working on getting very clear about my priorities each day so that I focus on what’s most important to accomplish, rather than getting stuck in the emergency mode of stressing over every single thing on my list. Not everything is going to get done, and I’m learning to be okay with that and just focus on what needs to get done the most. I need to learn to recognize and respect my limits more. This year Jeff and I are focusing on self-care, and one thing I need to work on is easing up on myself. In case any of you tend to do the same thing, I thought I’d write this with the loving reminder to give yourself a break.

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P.S. For those of you who are on Instagram, I do share little posts there regularly @woolymossroots. Those little posts are just so much easier to squeeze into my days than a long blog post. I’ve known bloggers who have left the blogging world behind for Instagram, and while I do appreciate the beauty and inspiration that can be found there (and how easy it is to connect and comment), I think there is something special about the world of blogging. I love the feeling of visiting a favorite blog. It feels quieter somehow, like a step away from the busy world, and a visit to a familiar friend. While I’ve sometimes felt surprised when I’ve heard from readers over the years who have said things like “your life seems so peaceful”, (because to me it can feel so rushed and chaotic and just downright overwhelming at times), I do appreciate that people find peace in this space. I want you to feel a sense of peace when you come here, because that peace and that calm is what I need too. I show up here at night or early in the morning, when the world is quiet, and process everything I’m feeling while I write (noticing my inner world quieting down while I do), and hope that by sharing something that brings me joy it will bring you joy too. Thank you for reading these words, and thank you for leaving me comments that remind me why I come here to write.