Happy Father’s Day Weekend to all the dads out there (and moms filling both roles), and Happy Summer Solstice to everyone reading now. I hope you are each feeling full of light, strength, and vitality. Today I took part in a fast, kickstarting a detox I do every so often when I start to feel too reliant on coffee and tea instead of water, quick fix snacks instead of nourishing meals. To be honest, I’m feeling a bit drained; when I go below the surface of that feeling, I find a door opening to more inward reflection, an invitation to slowing down, to resting, to getting through some stuck layers.
Parenting right now is hard. There were never any rule books or instruction guides that were 100% accurate in "the before times", but these days all rules are off. Tending to our own needs plus the constant needs of little ones is challenging (especially in the summer when kids grow like weeds and eat constantly!). This time in history is asking more of each person – adults and kids alike, on a global level – than another. All of us in our individual boats riding the waves of this storm, collectively and individually. Currently, I am tired of words. I am tired of repeating the same things, tired of hearing the same complaints, and know my children feel the same.
But, this is where the work lies. This is where we get to practice taking those deep breaths, feeling our bodies and noticing where they’re touching the floor, pausing to observe our thoughts and reactions, holding what we discover with love, and deciding what the best next step is moving forward. We don’t always choose correctly, and that’s okay – it’s where we get to practice grace and forgiveness with ourselves and with others. When I start getting swept away with thoughts about how hard this all is, I keep returning and remembering with gentleness that above all else, the way we feel at the end of the day is the greatest measure of success… and also, that we get another chance to try again with each rising sun. What a gift it is to wake with that remembrance.
We will continue more consistent hydration, and I see a need for more anchor points throughout our weeks. In this space where it’s easy to forget the date, there is something nurturing about ritual tied to each day. Baking bread on Tuesdays, doing art on Thursdays, Friday movie night, etc. Daily routines that can become sacred instead of hurried and rushed. Somehow, even as time stands it flies by. My boys seem to grow overnight, and as trying as some days can be I want to bottle them up to return to over and over. All the little things they do that make them uniquely them.
What are some of the ways you are finding rhythm in your daily or weekly routines? Comment below!