Friday, January 18, 2008

How to keep from going crazy

1. Get yourself a hotrod, girlfriend! Since we bought another vehicle, I have discovered that having the means to escape is more important than the escape itself. A prison is not a prison if there's an escape hatch. If I think I'm trapped, I feel trapped. If I feel trapped, I get frustrated.

2. Exercise. I'm not talking about walking around the block. I'm talking about breaking a sweat and getting those muscles moving. Exercising at home did not work for me. The children do not sit still while I work out and do not sleep if I wake up early. All the financial advice columns I've read suggest getting rid of your gym membership because you can't afford it and you don't use it anyway. Personally, I can't afford not to have one. The difference in my mood is marked enough that I now consider myself irresponsible if I don't get to the gym every other day. The kids need a happy mama.

3. Lower your standards. This one took awhile for me to learn since, when I was a teenager, church was all about having high standards and setting goals. But goals have to be realistic. A completely clean house is just a dream for me now. Set those aspirations a-plummeting, and life will be much more manageable. Love to launder? Muse about mopping? Buy more clothes and get a dog.

4. Laugh. I once knew a lady who had five kids who said, (you remember this, Christie?) "Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry. So I just laugh." So take funny pictures, tickle your kids, jump on the bed, blog, call your friends...

5. Recognize your limitations. Like right now, my kids are sick, I need to leave, I don't have time to blog, I won't get the grocery shopping done...Too bad. Bye!

3 comments:

Sara and Company said...

I concur! Very cute! Sanity is totally worth it. Now if I could just convince my husband to let me join a gym...maybe you could explain to him how much better a person that would make me and how worth it it would be. Hmmmmm....

KA said...

It's easy. Just do what I did. Whip out the credit card and tell him about it later.

Sara and Company said...

Ha ha....that works a little better for me when I do a one time expense. You must have the touch!