I've been exhausted lately. I was talking to a good friend this morning (she happens to be 4 year-old) and she asked me what I had been doing lately. I started rattling everything off and she said, "That's a lot of jobs, Miss Jennifer!" I realized that I am juggling five part-time jobs right now....and several side projects. No wonder I'm always so tired! They are all things I'm interested in, but I've been feeling worn out lately, and I haven't been keeping up with my yoga classes and hiking goals I set for myself at all for the past week or so. Mainly, yoga classes aren't offered during the little "free" time I do have. I've also been leaving the house really early and getting home really late for work....not ideal for hiking, but I realized this morning that there is also some choice in that. There is always choice in everything. I keep taking every single opportunity for work that comes my way, which is great, but what is it ultimately costing me in non-monetary ways?
I feel conflicted, because I know I need the money right now, but I also know that I need to change my overall perspective/patterns to make my health my number one priority. What I have done in the past hasn't worked, so why am I letting myself fall back into those old patterns again? The past few weeks, I've been letting work be more important than taking care of myself. Maybe it is easier for me to be busy as hell and use that as an excuse to not be good to myself. Why is that so hard?
Anyhow, I got home really late last night & had to get up at 6:45 this morning to get the animals all settled before heading off to hang with Miss M this morning. I was exhausted and feeling stressed out about all of the errands/tasks/jobs I was already trying to juggle in my head for the day....babysit, go to P.O. Box to pick up package, drop off dry cleaning for client, go work at the store, go to return unused wardrobe from the video shoot, etc, etc, etc. The past two days of work have been fun, but solid 12+ hour days in and out of the heat. I wanted to push past my exhaustion and think of something fun to do with Miss M this morning. Her dad had thrown out a couple of ideas before she woke up, but I wasn't sure what we would end up doing. I kept trying to think of something free, but all of the obvious options didn't make sense in the heat wave. Finally, I thought, "Oh well, let's go to the tea house and have a tea party." Miss M is *such* a lady. She is convinced she is a princess, wears sparkly shoes and ball gowns the majority of the time. I've known her since she was two & started coming in The Green Wagon. Miss M & her family quickly became some of my favorite customers & some of my dearest friends.
Ok, so there we are this morning, having dropped her older brother off at climbing camp. I'm driving the family mini van & I turn around to ask Miss M if she would like to go to the tea house and have a tea party. You would have thought I told her I was taking her to meet a room full of real life princesses. She flipped. We got there & the tea house didn't open for another 20 minutes, so we made clover crowns in the front yard of the tea house and waited. Once they opened, Miss M flew through the door and was the first to show me the teacup display, where you could pick out your own beautiful cup. Then she pulled me into her favorite room....there were lovely fancy hats hanging all along the walls and a few vintage suitcases overflowing with elegant gloves. Miss M picked out hats and gloves for the both of us. We both agreed on the Bohemian Raspberry Tea & Miss M insisted that I try the scones. She also insisted on speaking in a British accent the whole time we were there & made me pretend like I was the queen and she was the princess. Within 45 seconds of being there with her, I was wearing a ridiculous hat, long formal gloves and speaking in a British accent, referring to myself as a queen. How had this little pint-sized lady done this? How had she turned my whole day around and made me relaxed and happy and silly and royal?
It was simple. She had done this just by being completely present. I adored this morning. I ordered a second pot of tea in a silly formal accent from the very understanding waitress. I ordered more scones for Miss M. It was one of the most enjoyable mornings I've had in quite a while. I forgot about the bill or if it was going to be more than I would normally spend on myself (it ended up being surprisingly cheap, actually). In the moment, I didn't care. I was over-caffeinated and happy.
Then we went and held puppies and kittens at a local shelter for a while before going to pick up her big brother from camp. I am pretty sure scones weren't the healthiest breakfast option for my "get healthy by 30" quest, but this morning was an exception. I was a queen and Miss M and I were on top of the world. I am so grateful for my sweet friend.
Ok, so there we are this morning, having dropped her older brother off at climbing camp. I'm driving the family mini van & I turn around to ask Miss M if she would like to go to the tea house and have a tea party. You would have thought I told her I was taking her to meet a room full of real life princesses. She flipped. We got there & the tea house didn't open for another 20 minutes, so we made clover crowns in the front yard of the tea house and waited. Once they opened, Miss M flew through the door and was the first to show me the teacup display, where you could pick out your own beautiful cup. Then she pulled me into her favorite room....there were lovely fancy hats hanging all along the walls and a few vintage suitcases overflowing with elegant gloves. Miss M picked out hats and gloves for the both of us. We both agreed on the Bohemian Raspberry Tea & Miss M insisted that I try the scones. She also insisted on speaking in a British accent the whole time we were there & made me pretend like I was the queen and she was the princess. Within 45 seconds of being there with her, I was wearing a ridiculous hat, long formal gloves and speaking in a British accent, referring to myself as a queen. How had this little pint-sized lady done this? How had she turned my whole day around and made me relaxed and happy and silly and royal?
It was simple. She had done this just by being completely present. I adored this morning. I ordered a second pot of tea in a silly formal accent from the very understanding waitress. I ordered more scones for Miss M. It was one of the most enjoyable mornings I've had in quite a while. I forgot about the bill or if it was going to be more than I would normally spend on myself (it ended up being surprisingly cheap, actually). In the moment, I didn't care. I was over-caffeinated and happy.
Then we went and held puppies and kittens at a local shelter for a while before going to pick up her big brother from camp. I am pretty sure scones weren't the healthiest breakfast option for my "get healthy by 30" quest, but this morning was an exception. I was a queen and Miss M and I were on top of the world. I am so grateful for my sweet friend.
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