Letting Go

Hey there. I know, it has been forever. More on all the happenings in the next post. I had some thoughts about the lesson in Relief Society today.

Today was our March Circle Discussion. (I love the circle, I think it's kinda difficult to do during the last hour, and I'm bothered when people sit outside the circle. Like, seriously? Just get into the circle.) Today we walked about Prioritizing Our Lives. The lesson drew insights and quotes from Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk from April 2001 "Focus And Priorities" which is absolutely amazing!

One thing that has modern mothers (Mormon or not!) scrambling is pinterest. Seriously. With all those perfect houses and perfect meals, who isn't scrambling to add a little more perfection to their lives? Who didn't jump up and order an InstaPot on amazon as soon as those pins started filling up the news feed? And you know what? THAT'S OK! Honestly, if that's you, then own it, cuz you're awesome and trying new things to feed your family and learning/bettering a skill.

If you bought the InstaPot and realized it's not for you, THAT'S OK! Honestly. Just cuz something works for tons of other moms, doesn't mean it's going to work for you. There are tons of moms who don't "get" the InstaPot either.

 If you didn't even try the InstaPot cuz you really don't need ANOTHER unused kitchen appliance filling up your counter, THAT'S OK! Honestly! There are tons of moms who don't cook and whose children live off of cereal, hot dogs and string cheese and those kids are growing! (Trust me! I have pictures to prove it!)

The point is, what works for someone else, might not work for you. And that's ok. I can give you a list of skills I do NOT have, and for a while, being deficient in those skill sets bothered me, because what Mormon mom doesn't sing?! Well, actually, a lot of us don't sing. I realized that I was comparing my weakness to someone else's strength. And that's not fair, to me or her!

In our amazing discussion, on mother said, "I sew, that's my happy place. Sewing lets me just slow down and breathe. I helps me bring me back down so I can focus. If I don't sew, I go crazy!"

The mom sitting next to her spoke up too, "I think it's great that sewing is your skill, because sewing makes me swear. (we all laughed!) I tried to do all kinds of things, but I have had to slow down and figure out what things I could let go of to keep myself happy. I'm ok with not being a sewer or a cook. I don't cook, it's not something I'm good at. You'd be surprised how much cereal my kids eat."

And that hit me. "I had to figure our what things I could let go of to keep myself happy."

Wow.

Like wow - wow - WOW!

That got me thinking of what things can I let of (for the sake of my happiness/sanity)? What things have I already let go of?

Another insight that was brought up was that we, as mothers, as women, as the wearers-of-many-many-hats, need to simplify! How much in our lives, in our homes, do we actually use or need? I'm pretty sure my home doesn't need 20 pairs of tiny shoes, especially when there are definitely favorites being played here.

What about in my life? What if instead of a  "TO DO" list with all the things I need to do today, what if I made a "TA DA" list with all the things I have accomplished so far today?! What if the focus wasn't on what I still needed to do, how far I still needed to go, but the focus was then on what I have already done, how far I have already come?!

Often times, I feel like a video game hero (Link for example!) who has to get to level 100 to win the game. I'm so focused on where I need to go next and what I need to do still, that when I do level up (I'm level 31 btw) the thought that crosses my mind is, "Ooh yes, my lives are refilled, I can now go fight the big mega-boss at the Academy." When my first thought should totally be, "Oh wow, look at all I have done to get to level 31. Wow. Keeping those 2 monkeys alive has been so rough on me. Look at my clothes, there are bite marks on my clothes! I can't believe I survived, but it looks like Someone wants me to win, Someone wants me here."

There is so much more to life than what we need to do next. Seriously. Take a moment, to sit back and just soak in how far you've come. Look at all you have accomplished. You, my sweet friend, are a rockstar. You're freaking amazing. Brush off those shoulders, cuz you are totally a boss.

Now, if you can accomplish all that you already have, if you can survive all of THAT (whew, and it was a whole bunch!) than you, my awesome, amazing, rockstar, can totally rock whatever is coming next. You got this. You got mad skills. You have skills that I don't have, you shine with your own light, and the world needs your light. So shine, rockstar, SHINE BRIGHT!