The thing about being an overachiever is that I don’t know when to slow down before I completely burn out.
There’s just too much to do. Not enough time. And I feel like my dreams are at stake.
So I hustle. And I grind. And I end up glued to my screen. Working, researching, working some more. Often sacrificing sleep and food, just so I can feel productive.
And I know it’s the worst when I start sacrificing time with my family. Trading play time for checking off to do lists. Or worse yet, getting annoyed when my two year old daughter asks me every 30 seconds to play with her.
“I AM playing with you.”
Meanwhile, I have a Barbie in one hand and my phone in the other. Even my daughter knows when I’m only half present.
And then the other night, as I was putting my daughter to bed, she asked if I could sleep next to her. I told her she could sleep in her bed, and I’ll be right next to her in my bed (our kids still sleep in the master with us, but in their own toddler beds).
And she asked again. And I insisted I’d stay in my bed. And then again…
“Mama, sleep next to me.”
So I took a deep breath and thought, what if this is the last time she asks me to sleep next to her? What if she wakes up the next day too cool for mama. What if tomorrow, she’s sleeping in her own room with boy band posters hanging on her walls?
So I laid down on the floor next to her, kissed her on the head, and propped my head up on her pillow.
She played with my hair for a minute or two, touched my face, and then fell asleep.
And it’s moments like this that remind me to stop and savor the time I have with my kids.
Happiness doesn’t come from chasing dreams. It comes from embracing the moment.
