You may have noticed after the 30 Day Static wardrobe experiment I took the summer off. Not only did I take the summer off blogging, but also from my businesses, my diet, my exercise and my communication with anyone outside my family or my lake friends. You could say I basically checked out of life. I started getting texts, emails and various modes of communication asking (even phone calls … clearly from those who don’t know me!) checking to see if “everything was ok.”
I did this for two reasons: my youngest is starting full day kindergarten this fall and I wanted to savor every moment I could before the flash of time that is elementary school. I blink and the school year has passed … and I blink again and he is starting middle school. Tim and I have determined we are in the parenting sweet spot right now and we know it won’t last for long. Time to soak it up.
With ages 6, 9 & 12, our kids still want to be with us. They are fully functional humans, so we are no longer being called into the bathroom to wipe someone’s bum or boogie nose. Most nights (barring the random “I had a bad dream”), we get a full night’s sleep, and the kids’ activities have not ramped up so much that we still squeeze in few family dinners per week. But don’t get me wrong: it’s not all champagne and roses. Just last night one of our children (who will remain nameless) was “scared” and needed to cuddle in the middle of the night … and proceeded to pee in our bed. So maybe it would be more realistic to say we are almost in the sweet spot of parenting.
Now the house is quiet, I don’t have to rush off to a 12:30 preschool pick- up and I don’t have anyone asking me to play a game, change the channel on the TV or get them a snack five minutes after lunch. It is so silent in the house and the car, I hear a little rhythmic clink on my key ring or the slight rattle of the air vent in the floor.
So what to do with all this time? I’m not a sitting still kind of girl. I was pretty set on leaving all my entrepreneurial ventures behind, for the validation that comes with a consistent predictable pay check. But the more I talk to Moms who have to have the 40-hour work week, the more I hear women say, “I wish it was different … I wish I could work from home or have the flexibility, so I don’t miss out on my kids because they are little for such a short time.” These conversations have convinced me to push through the struggles of entrepreneurship, to not miss a moment of my children’s lives. Having one reliable income and three children in private school does come with sacrifices. If I worked a “Real Job” we Could take fancy vacations, wouldn’t be driving a car that is the age of my oldest child. I could buy the Tory Burch or LV. Get a regular massage or facial. But I would miss those times when they chat my ear off after a long day, sob in my arms because someone was unkind or beg me for a snack 2 minutes before dinner is ready. I have to believe that my feelings of needing validation are way less important than the three sweet humans I am raising to change their little slice of the world.
What do I do now: make lists, get organized and get back at it. This summer the occasional ice cream happened on far more occasions than my body needed. So it is time to get down to business. And since I love change and newness, and I have totally bought into the marketing industry’s # 1 lie of “try the new thing, it might be better than the tried and true.” It’s called hope, people.
When I called myself a diet schizophrenic a while back, I was not joking. I have tried Weight Watchers, NutraSystem, Quick Weight Loss, Jenny Craig, Advocare, Paleo, Whole 30, BulletProof, Zone, Zone-Paleo, Plexus, Isagenixs, Beach Body, Dr Gundry, The G plan, Keto … wow, that was really scary listing those all out! Now before you say “well you probably never stayed on them consistently or for long enough,” when I get into something, I get obsessed and every one of those plans got the minimum of three months, some way longer. And yes, I exercise. Crossfit is my most favorite exercise mode. Why did I tell you all of that? Because I am going to blog about all the plans I have tried, one by one, and I am starting a new one that most people have not heard of so you can watch the progress (or lack thereof). We will see! I am looking for the magic bullet, the formula that works for me. You would think after all those plans I have tried, I would give up. Eat fruits, veggies and protein and then exercise, but nope … still trying! Tenacity is my hallmark, even when it does not deliver the results I want. I am truly shaking my head at myself right now. Subscribe so you don’t miss my diet diatribes.
Static Wardrobe Follow Up: most of the summer I stuck to my static wardrobe and loved it. In fact, I am wearing it right now. It is just so easy and requires no mental effort. My daughter did beg me day after day, however, to give up my static wardrobe. I found a cute figure-flattering lightweight knit dress at the LL Bean Outlet (I know, I know … not the epitome of fashion, but you do what you can do while you’re summering on a lake in rural NH). I loved that it was super comfy, could go dressy or super casual: I could wear it with my Birkenstocks or my platforms. I loved it so much, I bought it in five patterns and now that is my new static wardrobe. It is perfect … and so when I lose my summer fluff, I will probably want to change it up again. The struggle is real folks.