Life should never be a checklist.

I feel like it’s so easy to get wrapped up into “what’s next.” Maybe it’s just my anxiety or the planning/organizing I always feel like I need to do. I think a lot of people struggle with this though. It’s just the way society is. We are always running, always doing stuff, keeping busy etc. etc. We are so quick to just hop from one major life event to another and not even realize we are doing it. Is it the thrill? Are we afraid we are going to get bored? Why do we do this? I know people who will plan their next vacation before they have even gone on the first one. People also are so quick to think about having another baby right after they just had one. They say they love babies or just want another. It’s like those people you see on the road who are speeding up and passing you, only to stop at a red light. Why do we do this? What’s the rush? I have made it my life goal in the most recent year or so to not be this way. Time goes by way too fast. My dad used to always tell me, “Don’t wish your life away.” And he’s right. I spent so much time when I was a kid just wanting to be 16. Then I just wanted to go to college. That mentality stopped after I went to college and realized, oh crap, I’m an adult now. Especially after having Mason and spending time with him, I try very hard to just live in the moment. When Mason was born so many people told me, “it goes by so fast.” And it does. And it is going by so fast. I am seeing him change right before my eyes. As soon as I pull out the next size of clothes, he doesn’t fit into half of it. I have learned to pull it out much earlier because the clothes vary so much. And even then he still only wears a size for a couple weeks or so! It’s insane how big he is getting! As much as I love these new phases he is going through, it has shown me that I need to slow down. Like, for real, I need to slow down and take the time or I will miss it. I have been fortunate enough to stay at home with him and hang out with him all day. And I do. We are constantly playing and having fun. But, I have noticed that sometimes I am sitting on my phone looking at pointless things while he is playing. I realized I was getting caught up in things that really don’t matter and investing my time in that. I have also noticed that I am getting so bogged down with house chores and feel like I just can’t get it all done in a day. But that’s just it. No one is asking me to. I don’t need to get it all done in one day. I don’t want to just be wishing my kid would take a nap so I can go do laundry. What if the mindset changes? What if I don’t put the pressure on myself to get it all done. Because, really, years down the road, I don’t want to look back and think all I cared about was stupid house chores. I need to enjoy the moments I have with him. Life should never be a checklist. You should never be just going through life one event after another thinking “ok, got that done, now we have this next weekend.” Pretty soon you will just be tearing month after month off your calendar and get to the end of the year and think, “oh, the year is over….” People are so quick to tell you to enjoy the moments. But what does that really mean? And are we really even doing it?

And for now,

Xoxo