It’s not even noon and I’m worried that I’ve wasted the day.
I took today off from work to tend to overdue doctors’ appointments. Ethan will have his four-month check-up (He’s past five months now). And I will have a “new patient” meeting with a primary care physician (This was scheduled over a year ago and then I had to push it farther back because I was too consumed by work).
The word, neglect, has been running through my head for the last day or so. Ethan’s delay in getting to his well-check appointment was due to illness, so it couldn’t be helped. But I’m pretty sure everything else that overwhelms me right now is mostly my fault.
I went into the garage (where Collin’s office is) to talk to him about Ethan’s bottle schedule, and then I started to cry.
He pulled out a folding chair for me to sit down, so I did. He sat in front me, held out his hands for mine, and asked what was wrong. I said, “everything.”
I proceeded to list off all of the things that were weighing on my mind and body… all of the things I thought I was neglecting and all of the people I was letting down.
After I was finished, he looked at me and began listing off all of the things that I’d accomplished (just that day). “… you took a shower… you gave Ethan a bath… you put Owen’s teachers’ gifts together… you ate breakfast… you filled out medical forms… you paid a couple bills… etc.”
And then he said, “focus on the wins.”
While he was naming each thing, I was genuinely surprised. I didn’t realize how much I had done in such a short amount of time because I was so focused on all of the things that I hadn’t done.
I got up and left the garage feeling better—even proud of myself. I decided to use the next half hour (before leaving for Ethan’s doctor appointment) to write this post.
Because someone else out there needs to remember to focus on the wins. So, here is your reminder.
There’s a lot of good going on—you just have to be open to recognizing it.
<3 Laura
Special thanks and much love to Collin for bringing that awareness to me.
