Taking Time To Slow Down and Rest

It's a fast paced world in which we live. Society is constantly telling us that we need to do more, be more, have more, get more. Somehow in recent years, I've allowed my life to get back to the craziness it used to be when we lived in D.C. Throw in a five year old starting Kindergarten, a 6 month old baby, a new house, work commitments to three different businesses and my life gets pretty insane.

Tolar and I recently came to the realization that we are not teaching our children what rest looks like. We are teaching them to fill up every weekend with trips and meetings and standing commitments. We are showing them that life is always go, go, go and we want to change that!

Leading a life that lacks rest and includes chaos means that I often don't notice the small [read: important] things around me. My children on the other hand, they do. 

Often, I'm so focused on completing each task at hand that I realize I'm just going through the motions; trying to finish everything but never really allowing myself to EXPERIENCE it. 

So what do I do about it? How do I remind myself to slow down, get some rest and notice the world around me? First let me tell you that I'm a work in progress! I'm most comfortable when I'm busy and checking something off my to do list. The list I share below are my ideas on how I will allow rest to become the norm for our family.

1.) Schedule REST on your calendar

Early in the summer, we noticed that almost every single weekend in June, July and August were booked with some sort of event or trip. We did not like that, so I scheduled two weekends in our summer calendar where we would not plan anything. We stayed home, cleared our schedule and just allowed the day to happen.

2.) Plan fun, relaxed events just for your family.
Yes, parties and events and trips with friends are fun; I'm not saying delete those from your life. But sometimes you need to plan a laid back event just for the people who live in your house. This will give you time to connect and truly focus on each other.
For Labor Day weekend, we decided to take the kids to a dinosaur park about an hour away. It was the perfect trip for us for several reasons:
-it was somewhat close to home

-there was no time constraint, we could tour the park at our own pace
-dinosaurs are our daughters current favorite thing and seeing her in her element allowed us to see her come alive (she really impressed me that she knew every single dinosaur just by glancing at them)

-enjoying quality time away from the house allowed me to focus on my children and husband instead of the laundry or other household chores

3.) Say no to more things.

This is hard, but I've had to have a real talk with myself. Saying no to others means that I'm putting my family first. I don't need to attend every picnic or party or event that I'm invited to. But I do need to show my children that life needs rest. 

4.) When all else fails, provide yourself with a reminder of what truly matters.

I recently discovered these gorgeous bar necklaces from oNecklace Jewelry. You can personalize them however you like and I decided to get two necklaces with both of my children's names on them. 

I love having the necklaces because people always ask to have a closer look and that always starts a conversation about my children. But I also love wearing them as a reminder. My children notice the small things, they notice the flowers or the spinning fan. Wearing these necklaces reminds me that my children are constantly watching me too and that I need to set the best example for them. I need to slow down, allow myself to notice the things that they notice and provide rest in our lives. Just a simple touch to the necklace immediately reminds me that I too should stop and notice the small things around me, just like my two littles would.

I definitely encourage you to check out oNecklace Jewlery and look into ordering your own reminder. They have quite the selection of jewelry, in addition to necklaces. If you are looking for a bar necklace, certainly check out their site as they offer numerous styles.

I ordered my bar necklaces in different lengths so that I could layer them and wear them together. There are quite a lot of options to make each piece of jewelry completely yours. You can pick your chain length, the location of the name on the bar, the type of chain you would like and even select your desired clasp. The website is extremely easy to navigate and ordering is a breeze.
Their website also offers free shipping and personalization on every order.

Pro tip: When you are having family adventures like I mention in #2 above, wear your reminder item. That way, when you wear your reminder on any other day you will remember the fun you had with those that matter.

And if you haven't quite figured out how to rest and slow down and you suddenly realize you need to buy a gift for someone...oNecklace is perfect for that too!