Recently I’ve had a lot of friends tell me they don’t know how I do it. How do I not go crazy from all our moving and instability and not knowing where we are headed next?
First of all, let’s be honest. I’m not perfect, and anxiety sometimes gets the best of me. It’s a lot to take on, this nomadic life we live.
But for the most part, I feel peaceful about our life. Certainly my faith plays a huge part in that. I trust what God is doing here in our little baseball family.
But there is another reason I don’t freak out all the time. I am able to maintain a calm demeanor in our uprooted lifestyle because I fight for it.
I use the word “fight” for a reason. Everywhere I turn is the pressure to do more, be more, have more. I have to actively fight against what the world tells me I should be doing so our family can live at the pace we feel called to live in.
I actively fight busy. We have enough busy. We move three times a year. That’s busy. I don’t need to add more.
I am intentional about the way we spend our days and what we schedule into our calendar. This changes based on location and season of course, but right now intentional scheduling looks like this:
Our kids only play one sport at a time, and they get one extra activity if they really want it (last year it was dance). We homeschool – Yes, this is pretty much out of necessity right now with all the moving, but it also frees up our days to spend how we want to. Can I just say I love slow mornings with my kids after two years of fighting school traffic? We limit screen time – Not just for the kids, but for the adults too. Our TV is never on in the background. If it is on, we are intentionally watching something. We don’t have a TV in our bedroom, and I would like to get away from having phones in there too. (Anyone have a good alarm clock recommendation?)
People often ask what we will do when the kids are older and more committed to sports and activities. As with everything, I plan to take this one year at a time. One month at a time. Sometimes one day at a time, intentionally living the best I know how.
My slow living will not look like your slow living. All families are different. But this I do know – margin, peace, time to sit in the quiet – these things are worth fighting for, no matter what your life looks like.
I love this post! Especially as my husband and I get ready to transition into a new phase, starting our family in April… just shy of a year after the wedding. Especially as I battle anxiety on a nearly daily basis and struggle to keep it at bay for the sake of my growing baby. I want to slow down more and learn that it may just be what our family needs and that okay!
Thanks Meagan. This is something I have been working towards since getting married…and I wish someone had told me to slow down back then. Praying for you guys!
LOVE THIS!!!!
Thank you!
Back in the day growing up, we also were only allowed one sport/activity per year, and it worked out great. I recently purchased a wind up alarm clock on amazon. I love it because it will always work, even when the power goes out.
Yes! Me too. I’m going to check out that clock. Love that it doesn’t need to be plugged in!
This is excellent. I need to consciously live more like this. We certainly don’t have as much moving and uncertainty as your family, but our schedule and near future does have uncertainty in it. I need to be more intentional about slowing down. Thank you for this!
Thanks Kristin. When I write these things, I’m usually trying to remind myself about something important. I’m glad it resonated with you as well.
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