Take off the grubby sweatpants you’ve been wearing for the last year and do a happy dance! Life is finally returning to normal!
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for – we can finally get back to gathering with as many family and friends as we want, go to festivals and concerts, and yes – even send the kids to an overnight summer camp! (queue the fireworks!)
The joy many of us are feeling being able to return to our normal lifestyles is making some of us eager to make up for lost time, creating a rush to check off as many of those things that we can as soon as the opportunities pop up.
I’m guilty of it too.
Have lunch to catch up? Check.
Jaunts to the weekly farmer’s market? Check.
Day trips to that quaint town by the river with the quirky shops? Check.
Book a flight to see relatives halfway across the country? Check.
Plan to do this, that, and the other thing? Check, check, and check.
Woah, Nelly. I realized I’m acting like a racehorse out of the starting gate.
A lot of us are. And already, these new demands on their time have working moms feeling like they’ve just traded one set of stress inducers for another.
So let’s check in with ourselves to be sure we’re not overextending our time and energy in all the excitement.
It’s normal to want to take in all of the things that we missed about our lives once we’re able to. Just remember that when we’re in a hurry to do something, what we’re really in a hurry for is to feel what we think we’re going to feel once we are doing it.
But those feelings are available to us at any time.
Knowing this while we remember our goals for a balanced life can help us put the desire to “catch up on life” into perspective.
Trust that the things you want to do, and go to, and all the people you want to see, will still be there for you to enjoy in the fall and next summer.
Then prioritize what makes it onto your calendar to avoid risking a quick trip back to your pre-pandemic stress and overwhelm. (Including all the things the kids want to do, too.)
And if you get to feeling like the return to normal isn’t giving you the pandemic stress relief you’ve been hoping for, help is available.
There’s never been a better time to finally put an end to your feelings of hopelessness and frustration from the endless demands of being a working mom.
It’s there for you. Just click here to get started.
P.S. Are you thinking that the time off you’ll be taking this summer will be the answer to your getting-back-to-normal burnout? Maybe, but that’s only temporary. Fall will be here before you know it, and with it all the time management stress and burnout it brings. Now is the time to get coaching to help you keep it away for good. Click here to get started.