Have you heard of the “One Little Word” resolutions that seem to be sweeping social media? I love the idea of surveying your goals and resolutions for the year and boiling them down to one single word! Last year my word of the year was “Balance.” I am very far from mastering that word, my new friends, but I wanted to switch things up and find another word that was related to balance but more specifically fine tuned to the reason that I really need to find balance: my family.
You see, blogging is mega awesome, but it is also incredibly time consuming. The creating, photographing, editing, watermarking, writing, promoting, on and on…. It keeps a girl busy, that’s for sure! I am primarily a stay-at-home-mom, but I have had a really hard time balancing doing the work-at-home thing with blogging and making and selling jewelry alongside caring for two little ones without letting our home deteriorate into complete and utter mayhem. (Which, let’s be honest, it often does!) I have come to realize that the days when I am very frustrated with my kids and myself are the days when I am super stressed out about getting things done for my blog. Something must be done. Hence last year’s goal: BALANCE.
I am pleased to acknowledge that, although I still get discouraged because I often find myself completely lacking in my ability to juggle all of my metaphorical balls in the air, I have made progress. And that is SOMETHING.
So this year I am continuing on my journey to find balance, and I am fine tuning it toward my family. In fact, I almost used the word “FAMILY” because I want to focus not just on my little immediate family, but also on my ancestors through genealogy, which I love but never have time to do because my computer time is spent working. But that is a post for another day. Today I decided to zero in even more to my little immediate family and pick a word which is infinitely more “me.” That word? SNUGGLE.
I am a snuggler. Always have been. I think that can be attributed to my mom (pics above). My sisters and I are a snuggly, snuggly bunch. We also all have what can only be called “Cute Aggression.” It’s a real thing. Look it up! In fact, I dare say my Cute Aggression is worse than that of anyone I have ever met. I am known to scream with pure glee in baby’s faces as I force myself not to squeeze their little bodies with the intensity which I am feeling. True story. I want to squeeze or devour every cute baby that I see. My babies don’t even flinch at loud noises because they are so used to their mother joyfully shouting “YOU ARE THE BABY THAT I LOOOOOOVE!!!” My sister’s kids are not as sure about my intense level of affection . . .
Hahaha. Those pictures make me cackle every time that I see them. I try really hard to just clench my teeth and breathe deeply as I snuggle the babies of friends so as not to scare the baby’s pants off by shrieking about my adoration of them. It doesn’t work every time . . . 😉
I have not made it a secret on my blog or in my daily life that I struggle with depression, and especially that I get crippling postpartum depression. I am very blessed in that I never feel detached from my babies during my PPD, which is incredibly unusual. I hate everything and everyone else, but I adore my babies. Medication and weekly visits to a psychiatrist were vitally important to the recovery process of my postpartum depressions, each of which lasted about 18 miserable months, but the thing that filled me with the most day to day comfort were those rare quiet moments of peace holding my sleeping babies as close as possible. My favorite thing in the world? Snuggle naps with my kids, especially when they are newborns. My boy is an especially huge fan of snuggle naps, although these days they usually consist of less NAP and more squirming and trying to get me to talk to him. 🙂 You can see the evolution of our snuggle naps below. The first pic? Not staged. Seriously.
Now that you know more about my snuggling habits than anyone in the world EVER wanted to, let’s wrap things up. My kids are growing up. FAST. Way, way, WAY too fast!! Mama likes her babies LITTLE! My five year old boy still loves snuggling and requests “sleepovers” with mom all of the time, but how much longer is that going to last? I am already in SHOCK that he is in kindergarten. Right now I only get half of a day to snuggle and play with him, and yet I find myself spending far too much of it working on my computer or around the house on a regular basis. It is time for me to reevaluate my schedule and try to soak up this time while he still wants to snuggle his mother, and while my little princess is at the PEAK of her cuteness as a social little two year old diva. I need to slow down, friends. I need to SNUGGLE. I suggest you do the same! 🙂
For more overly personal posts from me you can check out the two posts linked below, the first one about my mother and what her example taught me about “true beauty,” and the second one is explains how the SNAP Blogging Conference totally changed my life. For real!
What My Mother’s Battle With Breast Cancer Taught Me About True Beauty
SNAP: A True Tale of How a Blogging Conference Inspired Me to be ME
Have a snuggggggly day! 🙂
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