This has been something I have wanted to write about for awhile, but once we got back from the beach, it really hit home. Since having Mirella, I’ve been struggling to find a healthy balance between blogging, reading other blogs, keeping up with social media, running my training business and just being a mom. I don’t know how other women do it, especially those who work full time outside of the home. Things are super busy as it is!

Don’t get me wrong, I love blogging and following other blogs, but when I take a break from it, it feels so refreshing because I have more time to tend to my family, house and me. Since Keenan doesn’t nap these days, my blogging time is very limited. Instead of writing posts and reading other blogs during his two hour nap time, I’m scrambling to prep dinner, start a blog post and edit photos in less than a hour while he has “quiet time” in his room and Mirella naps. By evening time, I’m exhausted (especially after waking up at 4:45 am to train clients and do my own workout) and all I want to do is spend time with my husband, cuddle up in bed and read after the kids are asleep.

It seems like society is constantly traveling full speed ahead, and everything has to be done instantly, not allowing any room for slowing down, taking things one at a time and truly enjoying the present.

Life quote

One of my goals for this year (and every year!) is to forget about the ever-growing to-do list, live in the present, cherish each moment and soak up every minute with my family. Often times, I find myself thinking about what else needs to be done while I’m playing with Keenan and Mirella. My mind tends to wander, thinking about finishing that last load of laundry, thawing out meat to cook for dinner, or writing the next day’s bog post, and it makes me feel guilty. I have to make a conscious effort to let go of all of those “to-dos” in my head and just enjoy the here and now. It’s difficult, but the more I focus on the present, the easier it becomes.

Living in the present, balancing life, family, work (whether inside or outside the home), health, me-time…how does one do it? I’m still trying to find the answer, but what I do know is prioritizing what is most important in my life right now. The most important thing to me is my family and being present for my kids.

Take this afternoon for example. On our walk/bike ride (Keenan riding his bike, me with Mirella in the Ergo Carrier while walking with both dogs on the leash), Keenan yelled “STOP” every time we came across a dandelion in peoples’ front yards. He wanted to pick them for me. He was “picking beautiful flowers for me to put in a vase.” I had tears in my eyes when he said that. THESE are the moments I live for. It makes the challenging times so worth it and so much easier to manage.

I just wish we all could take a step back and slow down for a minute. Why do we need to rush? Why do we need to know what everyone is doing at this very minute? In the grand scheme of things, who really cares?? What happened to simplicity and a digital-free world? When Keenan asks us something that my husband and I don’t quite know the answer to, our automatic reaction is to “just Google it” and when we were kids, I remember my mom getting the old encyclopedias out or going to the library to check out a book about it. Our poor kids will never know what a non-digital world is. They are growing up in a world where information is always at their fingertips and they can find out what anyone is doing at anytime. It kind of saddens me more than anything.

If I had it my way, I would take a digital-free, simple life any day, which is actually one of the reasons why my husband and I chose to move back to my hometown, a small farming community. We wanted our kids to grow up in the country like we did, be submersed in agriculture, be apart of 4-H and take care of livestock, to learn the true essence of life. Regardless of our fast paced world, they can at least learn to appreciate simplicity and not be so caught up in our ever-demanding digital society.

Ok, enough of my rant. What does this all mean? Deep down inside, I know it means that I want to take a step back and focus on connecting with you–my readers and clients–in ways that are meaningful, but maybe not quite as often as I have. I don’t know how other bloggers balance it all so well, but I feel like I’m dropping the ball in other areas of my life when I concentrate on keeping a strict blogging schedule. I need to find a balance that works for me, and that might mean three posts in a week, or it might mean one! It all depends on what’s happening in my world. That said, you can always catch glimpses of what’s happening with deliciously FIT on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

After all, leading a deliciously FIT lifestyle is all about balance, right?

I’m off to work in Keenan’s preschool today. Have a great weekend!

Questions:

How do you balance it all?

If you are a blogger, how do you find time to blog and keep up with everything?