Being Content With Rest

Posted on January 25, 2016

It’s no secret that life is moving at crazy speeds and we are all getting busier by the minute. Whether you have kids or not, our schedules seem to be bursting at the seems with all sorts of commitments ranging from events to attend, outings with friends, various appointments and sporting lessons/classes. There is hardly a minute to stop and just enjoy life. And yet, isn’t that point? So many people just whiz through life, hardly stopping to “smell the roses” along the way.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the popular saying “Stop the glorification of busy.” I’m not sure where that came from, but the first time I ever heard it, I was like “YES!” Especially when it comes to social media, it almost feels like a contest to see who can win the prize for busiest mom out there.

I’ll be the first to admit that I find myself falling into that trap. But one of our goals for 2016 is to be able to enjoy more downtime with our kids and be more intentional about spending time together. Along with that, we’ve also come to realize that this also doesn’t mean always going from thing to thing to thing. We don’t need to be constantly taking our kids everywhere we can think of, in the name of a good ‘experience.’ We can have those experiences right in the comfort of our own home, while we take time to rest.

So for the past two weekends, we’ve taken one full day to just stop and rest. We’ve stayed in our pyjama’s all day, ate some good food and ultimately found activities around the house that we could all enjoy together.

The one activity that my two older kids have started to love is playing with their lego. They both received a box of lego juniors for Christmas and have had a blast building and rebuilding characters, cars and houses. It’s incredible to see their imaginations at work and watch at such a young age, how they are able to focus so intently on something. We have literally sat for HOURS playing with these boxed sets and I love watching their creative minds work as they build.

You see, I don’t think our kids are the ones who have this desire to experience everything and anything that they can in life. That need comes from us, as their parents, who WANT to GIVE them those experiences. And I’m not slamming those experiences AT ALL. I’m simply saying, I think we need to keep our desires in check and realize that our kids are just as happy, at home, playing with the lego as they are going out galavanting all over the city, spending oodles of money. Because what they REALLY want is quality time with YOU. What they really need, is something to stimulate their imagination and keep them busy.

So instead of constantly chasing the title for “World’s Best Adventure Mom,” maybe it’s time that we take a step back, keep our pj’s on and enjoy a day of rest at home with our kids. Put away your phones and other electronics and just spend time together, bonding. Over lego, over craftings, over baking…you name it!