So I would take the kids on pointless trips, spending money that I really don't need to and spending time "entertaining" them (read: keeping them busy) but not really connecting with them.
Sometimes I forget how much joy I find in spending time at home with my family. Nothing planned, nowhere to go. Just us. Those times are usually the best times; the most fulfilling. We always find something fun to do and at the end of those days, I always feel revitalized. Its easy to forget that though.
Sometimes, I think I just fill our days with pointless busy work just because I think that's what we're supposed to do. In turn, the kids start to expect that I will provide them with things to do to keep them busy and very quickly, they lose the ability to entertain themselves. All playing ceases and instead, I'm bombarded with "I'm booooored." and "There's nothing to doooo!".
I need to simplify. And not just our surroundings but our rhythm too.
If our main goal in living simply is getting rid of stuff, our focus is still on stuff and that isn't the point of simple living. The point is to simplify our whole lives so that we can spend time focusing on what is really important. I'm pretty good at minimizing the amount of stuff in our lives. I'm terrible, however, at getting rid of distractions from what's really important.
So, with that in mind, today we stayed home. We spent the morning cleaning, getting the house back to the zen place we love so much. I pulled out all the supplies, some for me and some for Weston. We hummed our clean up songs as we swept and dusted. He helped me move chairs as I vaccuumed. We laughed as I dusted him and he dusted Amelia. We connected. And I feel rejuvinated. I feel energized and I feel calm.
We have the whole weekend ahead of us with no plans and daddy is home (yay for the end of tax season!!) and I am so looking forward to it.
