Back to basics

People have said, I am not sure who they are, but they have said that we aren't given more than we can handle.  Still others say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. And another groups says when life gives you lemons make lemonade. Then there's the beloved, when the going gets tough the tough get going. Or how about pull yourself up by your boot straps. God, the cliches are endless and frankly suck when they are said to you in times of stress.

I think people aren't sure what to say and cliches seem easy and I am sure come from a place of sincerity. But they still suck to hear because honestly I'll be the judge of how much more I can handle, how strong I want to be, how much lemonade I want to make, blah, blah, blah.

Things have been trying around here. Challenging. Overwhelming. Frustrating. Exhausting and a whole slew of other -ING words. Because of that I have put some rum in my lemonade and we've had to get back to basics.

Being a parent is like riding on a seesaw. Not one of those safe ones made of smooth plastic and resting on strips of recycled car tires that buffer your every up and down. No, this seesaw is the metal kinds that burns hot in the sun with it's wooden seats and exposed nails. The parenting seesaw can be found on a bed of asphalt and if not balanced appropriately comes to a jarring, yet bouncy halt as the wood strikes down.

I feel like the last few weeks have been a series of one ground strike after another. I rise up and then my stomach drops as I plummet towards the ground. Maybe my feet will catch, but maybe they won't. Maybe I'll find a rhythm of up and down and up and down and will figure out how to maintain it. Or maybe I won't.

For now, I am ditching the cliches and the seesaws and getting back to basics. Pulling things back in and closer to home. Passing up invitations to do this or that. Putting the girls to bed at what seems like a ridiculously early hour. Re-establishing our routine that works. Consistency. Clockwork. Stability. Zoom in on the details. Find trends in behavior. Change what we can.

And it's working...one day at a time.