when life gets in the way

I was all set to blog today about cold and flu prevention. I was prepared to write about nutrition, supplements and exercise. Then it happened.

LIFE.

I woke up to the sound of my Sarah throwing up. That is how the day began. Without going into all the gory details there was vomit, a lot of time in the bathroom, a potty training 2 year old (Oh yes, today is babysitting day for my niece) and all my JR wanted to do was play in the one inch of snow that fell last night. Time check: 6:30am.

Adrenaline pumping hard, I was feeling overwhelmed, sad for my sick daughter, and definitely feeling sorry for myself.

We do that, don’t we? These daily things that bombard our day. We feel attacked. We feel betrayed. This was not in the plan. I stopped for a moment to wonder what the universe was testing me for. What was I suppose to learn from this? My little girl sick. I am now not able to do the things I had planned for the day. I had to try to keep my niece away from my daughter. My son still bugging me  to go out and play in a dusting of snow.

“There’s hardly any snow out there.” I most definitely snapped at him.

Then I stopped. I realized that this was not the day I had planned, but this was my day. I could either complain about it and be miserable all day OR I could turn this around. So I did just that.

ASK FOR HELP: I called my Dad to see if he could come and rescue the niece from this crazy house. I knew I was doing her no good at all, and she was better off having a fun day with him then a day of me disinfecting everything and not letting her touch any of it. He said yes and I felt a little more tension leave my body. Asking for help is never easy. Aren't women supposed to be able to do it all?

LOVE. Care enough for yourself to know that it is ok to ask for help.

BE IN THE MOMENT: My sick little girl. It aches my heart to see her sick, and yet, it’s a virus and must run its course. That’s it. I have no say in that. My job in this moment is to comfort her. Stop pressuring myself to be “Mother of the Year” and just be her Mom right now.

DANCE. Move with the flow of life instead of always resisting.

As for my little man. He has been outside playing in the one inch of snow for an hour now. Having a blast. This one was my biggest lesson of all: LIVE. Play in the snow, even if its only a dusting. Stop finding excuses to not do things. Play now. Call a friend, don’t just Facebook or text them. Sing out loud if you feel the sudden need to do so. And always, ALWAYS tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.  Do it now, before that dusting of time melts away.