For The Days We Feel Unmotivated and Exhausted

Some days our tasks and to do lists seem to do themselves. We fly through our day, an absolute hurricane of productivity. The tidying and the baking and the lessons flow and we fall into bed exhausted and pleased, our day well spent and our hearts full.

Other days it's a struggle. Perhaps we're tired or we have a headache or it's simply one of those days our mothers would have said we woke up on the wrong side of the bed. These days even the smallest of tasks seems insurmountable and it's all we can do to finish the food and keep the kitchen reasonably tidied. 

Homemaking is less an occupation than it is a life choice and truly, a lifestyle. How we live should bring us joy and if you are like me, these days where cheer is in short supply and bitterness starts to creep in, make us question if the choice we've made in lifestyles is in fact the right one for us.

Take heart, dear one. All is not lost, even when we would much rather head back to the bed than we want to make it up. There are many ways to bring back the joy and infuse your day with the kind of puttery cheer we want to be the basis for our lives at home. Remember, the saying "if momma isn't happy, nobody is" is excruciatingly truthful. As our attitudes go, so goes those of our loved ones. After all, we make the home and as such, we set the tone for it. This makes it absolutely imperative that we take beautiful care of ourselves.

So, make yourself a pot of tea (perhaps my favorite, Lavender Earl Grey) and flavor it with fresh herbs and a spoonful of honey. Sit down in your comfiest chair and peruse these ways to take a bleak day and give it some soothing grace.

Oh goodness and isn't that one of the best ways to take a dreadfully dreary day and offer yourself some much needed grace. A comfy chair and a cup of tea and time to sip it slowly and mindfully. When we have a dear friend come over in distress, we seat them and make them a nice cuppa. We must give ourselves the same love and compassion we give to others. When things feel heavy, be your own best friend and offer yourself the comfort we so often rain down on others.

Perhaps your mind is troubled in ways you don't even quite understand. I hope you have a beautiful journal in which to spill your thoughts. I have a lovely leather bound diary with a strap to wind it closed and handmade, creamy paper bound inside. I often find there are things I didn't even realize were bothering me until I begin to lay them out on paper. I begin to understand why and how I'm thinking simply by pulling the thoughts out of my head and placing them carefully onto my page.

You could simply be tired, my friend. We do a lot and some days we don't feel like doing much because we need, more than anything, a break. These days call for a very hot bath with scented salts and bubbles and jasmine oil dabbed daintily on our temples and behind our ears. Light some candles and fill the room with the sultry smoke of incense and turn off all the artificial lights. Just soak and breathe and be. These days are also perfect for afternoon naps. Don't feel guilty. Just allow your body to catch up, knowing tomorrow you'll get even more done because you allowed this time of rest.

Finally, some days we just need extra inspiration and a reminder that we cherish the home centered life we've chosen. It helps here to have a vision board. I have chosen to create one digitally on Pinterest and often go through each photo, sighing softly and remembering the beautiful life I'm working to create and treasure. I also love to peruse books and blogs on slow living, simple living and old fashioned homemaking. An hour immersed in these kinds of beauties often gives me all the motivation I need to get to my day with a grateful and hopeful heart. Try Simply Living Well for some lovely inspiration.

While there is great joy to be found in a slow and simple life, there is also a great amount of burnout that can occur when we don't take care to pamper ourselves and give ourselves the rest and recovery every human needs, no matter the life they've chosen. On the days that it all feels like too much, allow yourself to do what makes you happy and fills your cup. After all, this is your home too and you deserve to be happy as well.

Until next time, my darlings.