You know, the lousy thing about babies is that they keep your from getting all your stuff done.  The best thing about babies is that they’re an awesome excuse.  Before you even get out the whole sentence, “geez I just couldn’t get that done, the baby was fussy”.  The person is going “oh yeah of course no problem” because no one wants to be seen blaming a defenseless baby for the fact that you can’t get anything done. 

And then I chuckle inside and give Leo a kiss for getting me off the hook, again.

It’s been a common theme lately because my to-do list is long and there’s a lot going on and I’m often too tired to do much about it.  But I’ve realized that when I get overwhelmed and freaked out it’s a sign to Stop and Take Care of Myself.  Stopping work on the to-do list doesn’t seem like a logical way to deal with it does it?

But it’s always about my to-do list.  It gets all the blame.  If my to-do list wasn’t so freakishly long I’d be calm.  But I’ve finally come to realize that it’s me.  And if I’m feeling freaked I need to stop doing stuff and deal.  That means eat lunch, take a nap, do some yoga, get outside, take a bath, breath.  It does not mean work until midnight on my stuff or freak out at my family until they leave me alone so i can get more done. 

Because when I’m feeling overwhelmed and freaked I am not that productive.  When I’m tired and dragging my butt around everything seems 12 times harder.  So it’s best to deal with how I’m feeling because when i feel better it gets done much more effortlessly.  And sometimes with more creativity and fun. 

And you know the really crazy thing?  When I feel good I’m more forgiving about whether i’m getting stuff done.  I’m better at saying, “oh well, it’ll get done sometime”.  Leo gets blamed much less often.

I liked Sally Kempton’s article on this topic in the last Yoga Journal.  It was about how taking the time  for our yoga practice gives you more time.  It doesn’t seem logical either right?  But her point is about how yoga takes us out of the “busy-ness” mind-set and slows us down enough to really focus and get things done.  Slowing down rather than racing around in a frenzied sprint, so that we can focus on the important things.  And forgive ourselves for the rest.