Laundry. Spills and messes. A million different after-school activities. Bathtime. Toys strewn everywhere. Homework. Family activities. A mom’s job is never really done. There’s always something to do. But one mom has a brilliant suggestion: let it all go.
Stay-at-home-mom and blogger Kaleigh Christensen shared an inspiring post on Facebook last week about just that: letting it all go. In her post, she recounts the myriad of things she and her family could (should?) be doing. But she has opted not to do those things, not today.
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Read Christensen’s full post below.
Today, we just let it all go.
– Kaleigh Christensen
The to-do list.
The clean home.
The laundry.
The pumpkin patches and apple orchards.
The big breakfast.
The showers, the makeup, the clean hair.
We let it all go.
We spent our day with zero expectations.
We napped together on the couch while watching too much tv.
We skipped cooking breakfast, and we went out for breakfast while wearing pajamas, skipped showers, and zero makeup.
We didn’t clean up after ourselves.
We opened the windows and listened to the rain fall.
We didn’t get stressed out over the upcoming week.
We didn’t worry about schedules.
We let it all go.
Instead,
We loved hard.
We loved through the messy.
Through the imperfections.
We listened to our bodies, and we RESTED.
We {really} rested.
And because of our messy day, I’m going into the week feeling free.
Feeling a little more like myself.
I don’t feel stressed.
My list of to-dos will always be there waiting.
There will always be responsibilities and never ending lists.
But my family?
The opportunity to love them in the present time?
That won’t always be here.
So…if you need to do it, too.
Do it for a day.
Let it all go, and look at your family.
Really look at them.
And rest in their uncdontional, imperfect, messy love.
No one ever said you had to do it all.
So just let it go.
Rest.
And love.
“Today, we just let it all go,” Christensen’s post begins. “The to-do list.The clean home. The laundry.”
She names a few other things on that neverending to-do list all moms are familiar with before saying, “We let it all go. We spent our day with zero expectations. We napped together on the couch while watching too much tv. We skipped cooking breakfast, and we went out for breakfast while wearing pajamas, skipped showers, and zero makeup. We didn’t clean up after ourselves.”
“Instead, she says, “We loved hard. We loved through the messy. Through the imperfections. We listened to our bodies, and we RESTED.”
At the end of her post, Christensen urges other families to do the same, to let it all go, just for a day.
Christensen’s post really hits home, because we have all been there. We know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed and exhausted. We often undervalue rest and relaxation, because there is always something that needs to be done.
But what if we didn’t do the thing? What if we took some time for ourselves, for our families? Just for a day, every now and then. The to-do lists will still be there. The things will get done, but maybe tomorrow instead.