Ever feel so tired you want to quit? Quit your job. Quit running the house. Quit giving everything your all? What would you do if you could shut it all down for a little while?
I love my life. I love the work. I love my kids. I love the travel. But sometimes we all need a break from our to-do lists. Because when “get some sleep” is on our to-do list, it’s a bad sign!
A few weeks ago I remember reading about a mom who “went on strike.” She had three girls and realized none of them was doing her chores. The house was a mess and she was sick of doing all the work. She started a blog and chronicled their mess piling up – and then something happened. By Day 6 the kids started picking up after themselves. Quitting worked.
I recently had to quit too. I had to ask my family to take the weekends “off.” We need to just slow down from over-scheduling ourselves with activities and obligations. Our days are packed. And I feel at least one of us is exhausted and cranky at the end. Any of this sound familiar?
We decided to slow down every weekend, but what I really want is to have an entirely unplugged weekend. I want a vacation from the news, video games, anything that plugs in — and just spend time with each other. A few days of no chores, work, homework, email or texts. Instead of cleaning up the garage and doing yard work, we will play games, read books, cook, bake and spend the day in our PJs! (Ever done something like this? Tell me how it went!)
Every once in a while families need to “check in” with themselves and see how balanced and in sync we are feeling. At work, we do this with our employees, and at home it should be just the same, except over dinner or a bedtime snuggle! I think part of evolving as a family means figuring out how to roll with the highs and lows and adjust through them all. Sometimes this can mean as partners who need to book a sitter and spend more time together, without the kids. And sometimes this means hibernating from the soccer games and birthday parties and just being a family for at least one weekend day.
On days that I feel overwhelmed, I have to ask myself: What is my priority? Why am I doing this? My answer should always be “for my family.” If it’s not, I should re-evaluate. And then quit the stuff that’s excess. Decline some invitations – and Just. Stay. Home.
What is your idea of an “I quit” day? How do you know when you or your family needs a break?
I Quit
