Rhythm: Finding the Calm in the Chaos

Have you ever felt you have so much to do and you’re so overwhelmed that you end up just doing nothing? Or have you realized that sometimes you just go, go, go trying to accomplish all the things you “need” to do only to feel exhausted and unaccomplished? Maybe you’ve found yourself in both of these situations!

I'm wondering if this feeling is especially prevalent at this time of year. I know I have been wanting so badly to make time to write, but I have had other priorities that needed my attention. So, today I share something I wrote this Spring {April 2014} that I needed to read again to remind myself to slow the rhythm of my routine and find calm...

Last night the kids went to bed well and on time. So I was able to put up my feet and open up a book. {Yes, a real book! More on that later.} Then… I heard footsteps coming down the stairs! I watched as the door slowly opened… I saw our large Main Coon cat emerge from upstairs and walk directly to the basement. {Breathe.} Wow, it’s so nice when everyone in the house, even the cat, knows that it’s time to rest! I went back to relaxing. I was thankful, because I know some days it feels like I’m chasing …      chasing the kids and cats and calm.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how chaos can overtake a day. Do you see that picture above? It may not look like much, but that mess in my front seat takes a lot of time to put together and even more time to put away. All that is necessary to make Mondays run smoothly! Too many days like this and life starts to feel a little out of balance. Are you making yourself  crazy with too many chaotic days?

When people mention balance, I take notice because that’s been my focus word and my goal for a few years now... or maybe more like the last decade. When I started reading “Unforced Rhythms of Grace,” I took notice right away because she started with this: “I have long loathed the word balance.” What?! But, as I read the rest of what Beth Guckenberger had to say, I entirely agreed with her perspective. She goes on to say: “A while ago, adapting a principle I read in Matthew, I exchanged ‘balance’ in my vocabulary with ‘rhythm.’ ”

Never Enough Time

I will openly admit that I was more emotional than I thought I'd be about my youngest starting Kindergarten.   How is it that it's already time for my baby boy to be in school all day?  Mid-August I started seeing posts and pictures of friends' children smiling brightly and heading off to school.  That's when the emotions started to set in.  That's when I publicly admitted how I was feeling.  That's when a handful of friends and family admitted that they too were in the same situation and feeling the same emotions.  What a pleasant surprise!  Thankfully, this was not the first time that I was honest and found out that I was not alone.

I will also admit that I had big plans for what I would do with all the time I would now have. 

Organizing Time: Weekly Meal Planning

Credits: #1, #2, #3, #4

This year I've been doing weekly meal planning, and I'm writing today to tell you it's well worth the effort!

So, why bother with meal planning?  It saves money and it saves time.  I'd say that is a win, win!

Our family saves money because we plan meals based on what's in season and on sale.  Also, planning ahead means we get all the food we need in one trip to the grocery store, instead of shopping multiple times a week.  Well, sometimes I go to a few stores on my errand day, depending on who has the best deals.  But, I have a list and stick to it.  

Not only does it save time to be prepared when I'm out running errands, but it saves time each night to know what we are making for meals and to know we have all the necessary ingredients.  I don't miss the talks a half an hour before supper is supposed to be ready, when everyone is hungry, and we're trying to decide who wants to eat what only to find out we don't have what we need anyway!

Everyone will have their own preference as too how much they want to plan ahead.  Simply do a Pinterest search for "weekly meal plan" to find a wide variety of meal planning methods, menus, and free printables.  I have included some of my favorites at left.  {Click the number below in the "Credits" caption to link to the website for each form.}

Of course, I couldn't just decide right away which form would fit our family... It was a process.  I have seen a variety of ideas similar to #1 and just love them.  Talk about cute and practical! {Some of them even listed the recipe or ingredients on the back of each meal card.}  But, I had to be honest about whether I would actually take the time to get this system all together... Not at this stage in our busy life.  Many people prefer a simple sheet with one column on the left for daily supper ideas and one column on the right for a grocery list {see #2}.  I did know that I wanted to plan for more than just supper, at least some days of the week.  I liked the design of #3 {because it's pretty} and it serves the purpose just described, but I think you could also use it to list more than one meal for each day down the right column.  In the end though, I figured that we would need something more like #4.  I did use this format for a little while.

Mission Project Completion

So, we've already established that I don't really set resolutions at the start of each new year.  I do, however, find myself thinking of projects.  Today's project has been tidying up my Pinterest boards... Okay that may take more than one day!  I don't know about you, but I do tend to start one task and then get distracted by other only slightly related tasks.  I still have not found that school lunches template that I wanted to print out... and I didn't like any of the other meal planning sheets I found... but I did find a great daily and weekly task chart to personalize.

So, today I'm going to share a few resources that I hope will help me stay focused and get things done.