Winter Wonderland and Parenting Woes
Let's establish some foundation before we dig in here:
I know, and am thankful every single day, that I have healthy children, a roof over my head, food to eat, etc.
No matter how much parenting can drive me NUTS, I wouldn't trade it for anything
I love living in New England with such drastic seasons, but every girl has her limits
Now we can talk about how much I was losing my mind after a full school vacation was followed by a 4 day school week turning into a 1.5 day school week (only a half day total for my 4 year old).
There was cursing, there were short tempers, and there may have even been a few tears. You see an entrepreneur, despite her flexibility, can only take so much interruption before she loses her mind. I spent most of December thinking about how amazing life was about to get, which in my world means there are about 3000 things I WANT to do. Being home with three kids who were scheduled for school felt like being a painter in a room full of art supplies, with her hands tied to her back. I was itching to get started but mother nature said, "NOPE, not yet."
This is where I had some choices.
I could see that I was being stubborn and making the situation worse, but truth be told I was cranky about the whole thing and didn't much feel like thinking productive thoughts, or seeing the glass as half full. I just wanted to be annoyed. So I decided I'd be full on annoyed: complaining, whining, and releasing my frustration in every which way. I decided I would carry on as such until it felt toxic, or something shifted. I decided that as long as I was aware of my self-inflicted misery it was perfectly acceptable to keep feeling it.
And just like that I woke up on day number two of cancelled school and it shifted. I literally woke up in full surrender. The frustration slipped away and the day was amazing. I believe in all my heart, that had I not made the conscious choice to feel shitty, I would not have welcomed in the surrender and the shift. Had I pushed away the feelings of frustration and attempted to "feel good" I really would have been pushing away my need to feel. I needed to release in order to grow. We all need to feel in order to grow.
Here's what it looked like in action:
"The Model"- a Brooke Castillo process, with an Amanda Kingsley twist...
SITUATION
- Wintery school cancellations
THOUGHT ABOUT THE SITUATION
- “I'm losing my mind; I need my time and space back.”
THE FEELING THIS THOUGHT TRIGGERS
- Frustration
THE ACTION TAKEN FROM THIS FEELING
- Complaining, whining, cursing...
THE RESULT OF THIS ACTION
- I lose my mind (at the end of my rope).
ASK (Is this in alignment with my WHY?)
-No
The Model applied for realignment:
SAME SITUATION
- Wintery school cancellations
NEW THOUGHT ABOUT THE SAME SITUATION
- “I'm going to feel whatever I need to feel, until it feels toxic or something shifts."
THE NEW FEELING THIS THOUGHT TRIGGERS
- Freedom (by permission), Relief,
THE NEW ACTION TAKEN FROM THIS FEELING
- Feel the feelings and express as needed with full awareness.
THE RESULT
- Big feelings and a fairly quick SHIFT.
ASK (Is this in alignment with my WHY?)
-YES!
WIN!
If you live in New England,
send me a message with your snow day survival tips!
