First day

 

 Yesterday really felt like the first day of Spring.

First thing in the morning, as the sunlight streamed through Nik's bedroom window, I changed our nature table for spring.  Keeping it sparse, just like our pokey spring, I still included a couple flowers, and a few little fairies to help get things moving. 

 

 I opened the windows and then, inspired by two books I am paging through right now, 'Fifteen Minutes Outside' and 'The Rhythm of Family', I went outside with my kids in both the morning and the afternoon.

We kicked at the snow and ice, and opened the sandbox. 

 

 Our neighbourhood was waking up from a sleepy winter.  The sunshine inspired the birds to sing, and the boys across the street to come out and jump their skateboards and scooters.  Seniors, and new parents with strollers walked by on the back path, and the young and fit jogged past them.

We unlocked the shed and pulled out the outside toys.  The kids found the sidewalk chalk and got to work brightening our play equipment.

 

There was a chill on the ground, but warmth in the air, and it really felt like something was beginning.  Fresh air in my lungs.  Mud on my pants.

Eventually, Nik tried to cross the back ditch, insisting to me that the snow was strong enough to support his weight.  As he winter boots filled with water, I knew we would be heading in to warm up soon.  Three sets of fresh clothes later, we settled down at our living room table for a tea party, to celebrate mud and birdsong and the first day of many outdoor days to come.

Breaking out of the funk

Spring is late this year.  If you didn't know it from looking out my window, you'd know it from the shear amount of griping about it on Facebook.  Everyone's kids are hyper, and stay at home parents, especially, are getting grumpy.

Being stuck inside gets depressing.  It is so easy to fall into a behind-on-housework, no motivation funk.  My personal challenge to myself has been to get the laundry folded and put away, but I have been failing to complete this for about 2 weeks. Sickness and busyness threw off our routine, and I just can't seem to get it under control again. Each day I do a little, save Sunday which is my day off, but I am starting to feel like Lucy next to the candy conveyer belt... There is always more coming!

Times like this, I have to fall back to my go-to "break out of the funk" strategies.  Maybe they can help you, too, next time you feel depleted and overwhelmed by the repetitive nature of home making.

• Change the atmosphere.  I make a cup of tea, put on a favourite cd, and open the curtains. These are things that are mood lifting for me. I do it even if I don't feel like it because I know it helps.
• Focus on one thing at a time.  I like to tackle the most obvious, annoying, in the way problem first. This might mean I clean the kitchen or living room, at the expense of the whole rest of the house. 
• Make a 'Done' list. To Do lists are depressing and exhausting. Done lists are energizing. List everything. Changed a diaper. Tidied toys out of the living room. Loaded and ran the dishwasher.
• Reward yourself. It can be as small as 'I fold this load of laundry, and I get to play a level of Candy Crush saga' to as big as, if I work for two hours this morning, I am vegging out on FB for an hour (or more) after lunch.
• Do something that lasts. Do an activity with your kids and take photos. Bake something. Organize a cupboard or drawer. Anything that will stay done for a least a few days counts.

 

We made a gingerbread house.  See the mess in the background?  Who cares?  Candy!

• Get out. Take a walk. Go to the library. Make a meal plan and shopping list, and get the groceries. Bonus if you do this in the morning, because it forces you to dress yourself and your kids, and eat something.

Life is made up of days, and days are made up of moments.  Focusing on the big picture can be overrated, and overwhelming.  Just take it one breath at a time.