When you have a significant change in your life, whether you feel good, bad, or conflicted about it, you can take advantage of the opportunity to piggyback some positive changes onto it.
When you move to a new house, get a new job, have a new baby, or any other large event, your routine and schedule get disrupted.
The time of settling back into life afterward is a great time to be mindful and purposeful about your habits and commitments as you continue or restart them.
This is also true of smaller changes such as when school ends for the summer, starts in the fall, when you accomplish a personal goal, or even at seasonal points when the weather changes.
Whenever you find yourself ‘getting back into routine’ ask yourself what you want to be different. If there are any daily or weekly habits that you want to add or eliminate, this is a good time.
I have a good friend from college who lives in another state and has four boys similar ages to mine. She homeschools and her husband has dealt with a long bout of unemployment and he just got a full time job last week. She was telling me how she was eager to get back into routine and was looking forward to the predictability of chores, times and income. I encouraged her to consider what habits she might want to adjust, and use this as an opportunity to adjust her routines.
My brother got married last summer and he and his wife are expecting a baby girl this summer. He is in the process of starting a new job while still looking for a better one. My close friend who lives down the street has two young children and is expecting twins this summer. My mother and father in law are seeing the need for a transition soon and are considering their options for moving out of their current house that they raised their boys in. I have military friends who are moving this year to other states. And then I have several friends who like me are in a season of routine and stability.
I have mixed feelings. I am overjoyed for my friend who is ready to settle back down into a routine. I feel humbled with gratitude for my current season of stability, and internally chastised for any complaints about boredom or household chores. I am eager to help my neighbor once her twins come, and to brainstorm with my in-laws about housing options.
I’m not in any kind of large transition in life, but I have several smaller changes I want to make. So I am inspired to consider ways to implement positive changes for my family using smaller milestones such as changing in the seasons and in the end of the school year. I look at my life and around my house, thinking about our home environment and daily life, and I feel the strong need for change. I know there are opportunities to change my family’s daily life for the better. I’m working up the mental and emotional energy to tackle them, to make the commitment and start. I wonder if I need a trigger, a catalyst. It might be as simple as the neighborhood garage sale showing up on my calendar, or a week straight of beautiful weather. I think this blog is partly a result of my quest for change, for something new. New relationships, new ideas, new experiments and experiences.
Among many things I hope this blog can be a catalyst for change, in my life, and in yours.