Take the Break
I was FaceTiming my husband while he was gone for his mission with the Ohio Army National Guard and telling him how overwhelmed I was and how badly I needed a break from life, he looks at me and says "then why don't you take one?" Immediately I started with all my excuses, "well I have work and the kids have school and what would I do with Poppy? (our dog) and I have my grad school work, and, and, and, and, and." Immediately I started with all the reasons why I shouldn't relax. We hung up the phone later and all I could think about was how hard all of this has been on myself and the kids. You see, my husband has been on missions since November, so we have barely seen him. Being a single mom, working full time, studying, and trying to maintain a household has been overwhelming (shout out to my mom for all her help throughout all of this!!). I called Tory back and said "would it be possible for us to come see you in Cleveland?"
Two weeks later we were packing up the car and heading to Cleveland. It was so refreshing to leave everything behind and just have some fun. I put in PTO, the kids played hooky from school and we had some amazing adventures and bonding time exploring a new city. It went by so fast and I wished we would have had more time, but I was happy to just have the time that we did. We even got one whole day with my husband which was so life giving!
I can't stress to you enough, take the break. Make yourself and your family the priority. Your job will still be there when you get back. Your kids school will still be there when you get back. Your house will still be there when you get back. You will never regret putting your family and yourself first, but you will regret putting your job first. Our society puts too much emphasis on "success" and "the grind" that sometimes we forget what is truly important.
Every year I choose a word to define the year that I want it to be. For 2021 I chose "succeed", but not in the traditional sense, the Ralph Waldo Emerson version. My hope for you is that you will choose this version of success as well. I want you to laugh often and much, I want you to appreciate beauty, I want you to find true joy and happiness. We only have one life, so take the break, love your people, and love yourself. -Kristen
