Slow Down and Enjoy

Episode Transcript

​

The Mom Training Podcast with Diana Ballard

 

Diana:  Hey, ladies! Welcome to the Mom Training Podcast. So, this episode, specifically, I have been trying to record for a long time. So, I record pretty far out, just because I’m a mom and I got to automate my crap. Because there’s no way in heck that I can plan it like, “Oh, today is Monday. I’ll release a podcast on Tuesday. I’d better go record one.”

 

   So, I record my stuff out, pretty far, just so that I make sure that I cover my bases and I’m not stressed out and getting angry at my family, right, when it’s time to go. So, I’ve been trying to record this podcast for a while and now, I know why… Which is the best part.

 

   This is about slowing down and enjoying. And I had a total thought process and a plan of what I was going to talk about. And now, after my current experience, I have figured out why I needed to wait.

 

   So, it was around Thanksgiving, and we were getting ready to go down to visit our family, and we were so excited… Kind of… Right?

 

   I was kind of at a place where I was slightly hoping that we wouldn’t go. Because I was so overwhelmed and over worked and tired. I’m up all night with my baby, and homeschooling, and business, and really busy kids. And I just have been… I’m still recovering from having a baby. I know that it’s four months out, but I am still trying to get my hormones all balanced and whatever it is… I’m sleep deprived.

 

   And I was kind of not wanting to go. I was like, “I don’t know. I just hope that something happens that we don’t go.” Because I can’t really say, “Oh hey, let’s not go”, because then I’d be the bad guy.

 

   Long story short, one of my kids ended up getting sick, and so we did not go down for Thanksgiving. And honestly, as much as I’m so sad that we missed our family and being away, it was such a break for me.

 

   And I still had to take care of everybody and do the normal household things, but there was no pressure, because I had planned to have the whole week off work, and we weren’t doing homeschool. And we were just going to enjoy and have fun.

 

   So, all of a sudden now, we are home and I have complete open availability now, to spend time doing the things I actually want to… That I actually want to do. And the things we might not have done this holiday season because everything just flows in to each other and all the weekends are almost all taken up by whatever stuff we have planned with work stuff, or with other friends, or going back to visit our family again for Christmas. It’s a lot.

 

   And so, I was given a whole week of a break, and gosh, what fun! I mean, I actually had an ability to think of what I wanted to do that week. Not what I had to do but what the heck to I want to do.

 

   So, we did crafts together. We got our Christmas stuff up. We went and got our Christmas tree. We went and did some fun activities that we weren’t really going to be able to do because all of our weekends were booked. And my husband had work off. So, we had lots of time together.

 

   And I will say, one of our big things was we remodeled our entire closet, which if you want to go see pictures, it’s on social media… But we decided that we were just going to gut our entire closet. Pulled every single thing out. Puttied the holes in the wall. Painted the whole thing, and my husband built an amazing beautiful closet in our bedroom.

 

   So, that was something that we did. Took three and a half days to accomplish. But it was something that we wanted to do, and it was actually fun. I was actually able to work on projects with him. He’s done most of the projects around the house because I’m taking care of the kids.

 

   But a couple of times, I was able to go with him to the store and help pick some things out and make decisions and make plans, and do a little bit of the dirty work. He did most of the building, you know, putting everything up, and everything.

 

   But I was able to help out in the process, and been able to read more with my kids, and snuggle and relax… “Hey, let’s watch a holiday movie together.” Oh my gosh, like what a gift.

 

   So, I want to ask you, do you have moments like that where you feel that you can just like pull out for a minute and be like, “I’m going to chill… “ Like for an extended period of time. You’re like, “Diana, I got crap to do.” … I know… I know.

 

   But can you slow down, and enjoy your life for a little moment? Can you either plan that in? Because I feel like life can give you opportunities to slow down if you don’t take them. Now, maybe they’ll come, no matter what, but this opportunity was given to us out of nowhere, right?

 

   Someone got sick, the rest of us got sick. So, it wasn’t like it was all carefree because we had to deal with some snotty noses and a little bit of cough and whatever. But it took off so much pressure for myself. Like, “Holy crap.”

 

   What types of breaks are you giving yourself to be able to do what you want to do? And not have it be a chore to do what you want to do. How can you enjoy your life?... By slowing down so you have time to actually do something you want and not what you need.

 

   And you can argue with me of, “Diana, I want to work… I want to go to school... I want to do this. I want to do that.” Yeah, that’s true. But sometimes it can become pretty mundane. A lot of times it can become a lot of… ”I have to do this every day and that’s about what we got.”

 

   But when was the last time you were able to do something that you wanted to do? Something that you’re like, “Man, this was fun.”

 

   So, like that week vacation that I had from life, kind of [chuckle]. I made my own Thanksgiving meal. And I cooked things a lot earlier. I made three dishes on the Tuesday, and then Wednesday I made a couple more. I cooked the turkey overnight in the oven… So, I could have like an actual relaxing fun Thanksgiving. I was able to plan out some memorable things to do that week, as a family, to enjoy each other. I mean, wow, what a breath of fresh air.

 

   What can you do to create a moment for yourself, to fully enjoy something that’s you’re doing? Whether that be taking the time to cook something you really don’t have to… I did not have to make a pumpkin pie. Nope, I didn’t. I did not have to make my own fresh mashed potatoes. Nope, I didn’t. I could have bought those. I could have bought Potato Pearls. I mean, I’ve never used those. Maybe I could’ve. [chuckle]

 

   I mean, there are things that I could’ve done… I could have bought a thing of rolls but I wanted to make them, from Rhodes Rolls, I will say that. I’m not rolling dough and letting it rise. That’s not me, but the Rhodes Rolls, I am for sure I am in on that, right? But I could’ve bought a bag of rolls. I could’ve done that.

 

   But I wanted to. I enjoyed being a housewife completely for like a day and a half, of just cooking whatever I wanted to do. And that was because I slowed down. That’s because I didn’t have a million things slamming me with work, with home school, with going places or doing things or someone expecting me to show up someplace, or to perform in some type of way… Chillin’… Chillin’.

 

   So, I want to invite you to, this week, create a moment where you can just chill. And whether that’s preparing for that… Meaning you get all your cleaning done as quickly as possible. You get everybody to help with that or you plan a time where you’re away where you’re all by yourself… Whatever it may be, plan a time for yourself to let go, to slow down, and then do something that you want to do.

 

   And it could be something completely productive. Like I literally have had time where I’ve done my taxes… I go through all my finances; I dissect them and look at everything. And it’s fun for me.

 

   I made fermented garlic recently, on one of my days, where it was like, “You know, I’m just going to make… I feel like doing this.” I got 14 bulbs of garlic. You should have seen the look on that lady’s face at the grocery store of like, “Why are you buying this much garlic?” I’m like, “Let me explain. This is for fermented garlic.”

 

   I mean, it doesn’t mean you have to sit on your butt and watch TV. If that’s what you want to do and you want to enjoy it, great. But you can be productive, doing things that you want to do. It may be things that maybe you’ve wanted to do for a while but you’ve never given yourself the space to create and do it.

 

   So, give yourself a break. Think to yourself how you can give yourself a break and take it. Enjoy it. Because life will continue to keep moving… We have to decide to slow down, to take something off our plate, to simplify. And we’re going to feel so much better when we do.

 

   Go take care of your needs, what is important to you, and remember to keep sharing The Mom Training Podcast with your fellow moms around you so we can continue to reach more families, and help mommas to be the best that they can. And we'll see you next Tuesday on The Mom Training Podcast.

​