For now, though, less is more.
We went to Chuck E Cheese yesterday {a favorite in our family, don't judge} and when we got home I just felt the need to purge. It could have been my brain telling me to
You see we didn't walk out of there with any prizes yesterday. No $0.25 bracelets, no inflatable beach ball that will get a hole in it the minute we leave, not even a temporary tattoo of the mascot. Nada. We convinced Kendall to save the tickets till the next time since they were severely understaffed and everything was taking a lot longer than normal. James was beyond his nap time and there was nothing Kendall had her eye on anyway. Coming home with nothing to show for our day's adventure was so refreshing.
When we got home my brain started to think about how happy I was that just going to Chuck E Cheese was enough for Kendall. She didn't need more stuff/junk to make her happy. She didn't demand a souvenir before we left. She was just happy with the time we spent there with her brother, aunt, and grandma.
I thought about myself though and realized that less isn't always more with me. I want more clothes. I want to buy new toys for the kids because "they are bored with their current ones". I want new bedding. I want the kids to have the best Easter baskets. I want more, more, more when in reality we have enough and what we have is enough.
Do you ever look around and realize how truly blessed you are? I have a nice house, plenty of clothes, a fridge and pantry full of food, a new truck, two healthy kids. On top of all of those important things I am able to swing into Starbucks when I feel a craving. I get my hair done fairly regularly. I am able to take my kids to the zoo on a random Tuesday. I pick up Panera for lunch more times than I care to admit. I let Kendall buy Shopkins just because. I have enough.
The Easter Bunny left us with even more and that has me craving even less. I want nothing more than a day to myself with a trash bag in hand to go through the whole house and just purge. I want to get rid of all the toys that are cheap, broken or missing pieces. I want to only keep clothing I feel amazing in. I want to throw out all the food that doesn't make us feel good {I'm looking at you Easter candy}. I want to put myself on a strict shopping ban that includes only necessities for the rest of the year {wishful thinking}.
I've heard of the book, the one about tidying up, but I don't even think I need a guide this time. I know what I need to do to live a more simple, fulfilled life. I need to be happy with what we have and realize what we have is enough. Plain and simple, ladies and gentleman, plain and simple.
Life lessons learned at Chuck E Cheese. See, that place isn't so bad ;-).
I get this way like once a month. My husband is a hoarder and I am a purger. I normally wait for his long hours and then I toss... I have my eyes on this panini press he just had to have on our wedding registry but we have NEVER used it in the almost 4 years we have been married. I have had the "more" feeling too I am writing it off as I want more for my house so I have started re-doing rooms, I started with a room swap and re-do and I am moving around the upstairs and then I plan on starting on the down stairs, when I am finished in December I hope the inside has a whole new look. More up to date and less.. bachelor pad-ish.
ReplyDeleteI follow a blogger (& photographer) named Nancy Ray and she does what is called the "contentment challenge". It's 3 months of no buying anything. I never fully participated although I want to, timing just doesn't add up. She is starting one I believe April 1. I can't participate again bc I'm pregnant and you know that means buying stuff for baby. Look into her, her blogposts are so inspiring too!
ReplyDeleteThis is perfection, Shannon.
ReplyDeleteToday, Connor and meet friends at the mall, played in the play area, had Chickfila and walked around a bit. We spent 3 hours there and other than the money spent on lunch, we didn't spend a dime nor did we walk out of the mall with more stuff that we don't actually need.
Sometimes it takes the littlest of experiences to make you realize that your life is enough. Yours was a trip to Germville ;) and mine was to the mall.
I've been trying to keep my prayers focused on gratitude rather than asking (pleading?!) for help in all of my shortcomings. That really helps my mindset. So, "Thank you God for the healthy, happy children you blessed me with," rather than something like this (that rattles through my head all the time, ordinarily), "Dear God PLEASE GIVE ME MORE PATIENCE WITH THE KIDS!" This is similar to what you mention, being thankful for all of the things we do have, rather than continually wishing for more! And -- this is the first blog comment I've left in AGES. You're welcome.
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