Feeling overwhelmed? Here’s why — and what to do when you feel overwhelmed.
A funny thing happened the other week, mama.
There I was, minding my own business, sitting quietly in a chair, doing nothing to attract attention when suddenly I found myself labeled as Class Mom for Henry AND Treasurer for Daphne’s Girl Scout troop in the SAME WEEK.
Okay, maybe it didn’t happen exactly like that.
Maybe it was more that Henry’s teacher sent out an email saying that there was no class parent yet, and since Henry is The Child About Whom I Worry Constantly, the guilt overwhelmed me in actual waves, and I wrote back to volunteer myself.
And then, we were at a Girl Scouts meeting, and they needed a treasurer, and I’m thinking that it probably doesn’t involve complex financial planning (FINGERS CROSSED), and it’s probably something I can handle, so up went my hand.
The point is, I said yes — which is something I haven’t done in this situation in a while.
Back when we lived in Kansas City, I was the Volunteer Queen.
And by the way, that does not mean that I was the person in charge of picking the volunteers. No, no, Volunteer SERVANT is probably a more apt description, because there was not an empty day on my calendar. I was on over a dozen boards, and I spent many, many hours volunteering on behalf of organizations that mattered to me.
And then we moved to Houston.
It wasn’t an easy time. I was 12 weeks pregnant and violently ill all the time. I had no support system in place, kids who needed me, and a fledgling freelancing business.
Anything that wasn’t specifically for my family or my business wasn’t just a no — it was a (you should pardon the expression) HELL NO.
It wasn’t just volunteering that fell off the radar. It was social events, anything purely for enjoyment, watching television, reading books — none of it happened during that time. It was a season of no, and it lasted a good three years.
But this year, I took a look around and realized that my family and my business are both in a good place, which means that I can start to say yes again.
You have to realize that every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else — and the other way around.
For example, being Henry’s Class Mom means that I am NOT available in my business on Thursdays in December because I’ll be over at the elementary school, pinning artwork on the walls, putting canned food in boxes, and other things that require my physical presence in a location other than my beloved home office.
It’s important to honor the seasons of yes and the seasons of no in your life. When you say no to the PTA and the food drive and the babysitting your neighbor’s kids and even not signing the kids up for soccer club, you’re saying no so that you can say yes to other things.
Whether that’s building holding your newborn — or nurturing your newborn business, or investing in your marriage, or caring for an aging parent, or anything else — that’s up to you.
Give your babies — and your business — the time and attention they deserve, because they really are only little for a little while.
And the thing about seasons is that they do eventually pass. Even in the middle of winter, when it’s dark at 2pm, and you can feel the cold in your bones, you know that come May (or February, here in Houston), the sun will come out to warm the earth again.
No matter what season you’re in right now, Mama, honor it. These days matter, and the work you are doing right now is the work you’re meant to do at this moment. And that, mama, is what to do when you feel overwhelmed.