Swimming or Spinning?

As a stay-at-home-mom, it's easy (and probably natural) to feel a bit stagnated at times.

Actually, I think everyone feels this way at times -- male or female, parent or not, stay-at-home or working. Perhaps I'm just more attuned to these sentiments expressed by SAHMs like me, and so it seems that they're felt more by this sub-group than by others? Or else it's just real.

Anyway...

Although I'm busy with life -- kids, husband, house, varied commitments -- it doesn't always mean I'm moving forward. I can be busy staying afloat while spinning in a swirl of water, or busy swimming through the water toward a destination. But the physical, emotional, and psychological effects of each are very different.

(I guess I'm in to the water-based metaphors lately. First, the tsunami dream. Now this.)

The two-week Christmas break was relaxing and so very enjoyable. The two weeks since then have been the opposite: busy. The spinning, swirling, toilet bowl kind of busy.




On paper, my to-do list reflects the swimming kind of busy, the way I'd hoped these weeks would be. During the relaxing weeks, I'd revisited my goals and written down steps I'd take toward achieving some of them. I thought I'd have made more progress toward those goals by now.

Alas, urgent concerns intervened.

But I think I see a way to get out of the swirl. I'm just gonna stop fighting it for a moment, relax, let it take me where it will for a bit. Think. Then dive down deep and away from the power of the vortex. Reemerge somewhere else. Swim back on track, back to the purpose.

OK, get ready, here I go...