May is an insane month. The end of the school year, spring sports, and closing programs for various activities. It’s finally not winter, and we have tons of yard work to do and our garden to plant. We have two birthdays, and both my husband and I find our work picks up a little bit in May.
I find some comfort in knowing that many, many other people find May to be insane too. But it’s easy for me to slip into mental and emotional patterns of overwhelm and stress. I find myself telling myself (and sometimes someone else) that there is no time or space in my life for me. I find myself grumbling.
I love soccer and baseball games, love the outdoor work, and love celebrating my kiddos, but when it starts to feel like too much, I get overwhelmed and it doesn’t do good things in my heart. When I start to feel this way during most of the year, I think about how to shift my schedule and rearrange things. But in May and December, it’s more a function of the season than our rhythm at large.
This May has been our busiest and craziest yet, and I have felt it.
But the last few weeks, I’ve started an intentional practice that is making a huge difference in my mindset. I’ve been answering two questions each day, one in the morning and one at night. In the morning, I write five things I am thankful for. In the evening, I write one thing I did to take good care of myself that day.
It probably takes a grand total of 3 minutes of my day, if that. It’s not a novel idea by any means. But I am noticing that it is shifting my mindset in a way that reduces my stress.
This morning the things I am grateful for include my husband, really soft pajama pants, and the smell of lilacs. Some of the ways that I have taken good care of myself in the past week include making a salad with extra veggies for lunch, reading a book just for fun, and calling a friend on my morning commute.
I don’t think anything in my schedule or behavior has actually changed one bit. I always wear those pants and have the same husband. I frequently make myself salads, call friends, and read. But all of the sudden I am paying attention. I am looking for things to be thankful for, I am looking for evidence that I matter and that there is space for me.
I’m calling attention to what is and choosing where I will focus my attention. When I write it down, I reinforce that these are the things that are worth paying attention to, that these are good things that are happening.
It’s speaking to my heart in a way that I didn’t expect. I am seeing abundance where I was seeing scarcity. I’m noticing more and more of the good moments. Don’t get me wrong; May is still insane, and I still have felt stressed and overwhelmed. It’s not perfect.
But it is a helpful practice, and it has spoken to my heart and mind in this busy month. So often I think that I’m too busy to start any new habit or routine, but surprisingly, adding this habit has helped tremendously in the busyness.
Soon school will be out, sports will be over, and birthdays will be past. The season will shift and there will be days with nothing on the calendar. I’m guessing this practice will be helpful then too. What are you thankful for? What did you do today to take good care of yourself?