Look Up

Today was a particularly rough day.

Perhaps it was just the inevitable lull that comes after the flurry of getting ready for and hosting two big events in our little home this weekend, but everything about today just felt harder than usual. I just felt raw and weak and anxious. And tired. Really, really tired.

Actually, I think my entire family is tired.

We are the kind of family who I’m sure many people think has our shit together. And we may have it more together than some sometimes. But, at the same time, often our lives feel like we’re spinning plates on canes, keeping our eyes and energy focused just on those plates, keeping them moving lest they all come crashing to the ground. We each do so much. And, I think every single one of us thinks we should be doing more. Each of us worries about what we’re not doing and questioning the choices we’ve made. All of the time. It’s exhausting.

And, I know we’re not alone. We are in no way unique. But, sometimes it takes recognizing that fact, over and over again, to make days like today a little easier. Everyone has their own struggles, their own anxieties and doubts, their own kind of busy, that makes some days just plain hard.

Sometimes all it takes is taking the time to look up. 

I almost missed this sky. I was so focused on filling out my planner and catching up with social media on my phone as I waited for the girls to get out of school, lamenting about my stomach hurting and about the optical shop screwing up my new glasses, that I was holed up in my car as if my world existed only within the confines of my CRV.

Fortunately, my world is much bigger than that. Thankfully, I looked up with enough time to see this amazing sky and remind myself of that.