June 2015 Life Updates
It’s now June 2015 and it’s time for a life update. We’ve been minimizing for about 4 months now and we’re getting ready to move in less than 2 weeks. It’s still amazing to me, in this minimalist journey, how huge an impact minimizing media is. Enormous.
At most, I hoped it would be less frustrating, but it is truly inspiring. It’s also a surprise how stressful social media can be. In my mind, I would have believed I controlled media (including TV, Netflix, movies, Kindle, iPad, etc…) when in reality a shift occurs and it controlled us. Not in the “dozen shows on DVR, movies daily or hours on the net” sort of way. Just in a time suck, waste of time, what’s important in life and this shouldn’t be a source of stress sort of way. Minimizing it and using media in a way that adds something positive was life-altering. You don’t realize until you change it.
Moving. It’s a hassle even when it’s good. When I was pregnant for the first time 24 years ago (after a year of infertility surgeries and medications), I received advice. Don’t wish away the time. “I can’t wait until she smiles, crawls, walks, talks….” Just be content at where you ARE. The time will fly by — enjoy it. I took that advice to heart and have always tried to be more present in the now. Bri is 23 years old now and — literally — it feels like yesterday she was born. Even with more trivial events like moving, when I’m surrounded by the organized chaos of boxes and a messy house, I’m trying not to wish away the next 12 days until the move. Stay present. Enjoy the process.
Even after getting rid of nearly 70% of our belongings (and even if it’s only 60%….), we have too much stuff. Once you get things where you want them, minimizing is still a process…… I’ve relaxed so much through the process of selling and donating, so I try not to get stressed knowing there’s more to do. It will happen. Moving makes it easier because it forces you to go through things faster, but I am certain that we’ll have more donation loads post-move. No big deal. Actually, please come get all this stuff.
My kids are hilarious. Really, really funny, sarcastic, emotional, full of ideas, always on board, hate to do chores, don’t want to pack, love eating dinner together, and going on walks kids. There are moments I wonder what I was thinking (or not thinking!) by having a huge family. It’s hard, there are sacrifices, it would be easier in many ways if I didn’t do foster care, adopt, etc… But it wouldn’t be OUR family. They are a blast and I’ve been blessed to be able to stagger and make mistakes with them along for the ride.
Relationships — just get rid of the ones that aren’t positive — keep the ones you love. I love the relationships I have. If you need more in the way of friends, find people that make you want to be better and that you do the same for them.
Homes — we’re looking forward to having a house that’s more “us”. Washer and dryer. I can’t stand mine after 11 years. They were the best, most expensive, time-saving, front-loading, blah, blah, blah….. They’re awful and I didn’t want to move them to the new house. A friend said she had a basic, plain Jane set I could have. Minimizing even that feels awesome!! Learning to have fewer things but better things, or more useful items makes me happy. WHO KNEW????!!!!!
Running. It’s hard and my time isn’t improving as fast as I would like, but it just feels great. There are so many great 5K options this year that are local (less money!), fun, and well-directed it makes me nearly giddy. I’ve done half marathons for about a decade and the foot break meant dialing back. My doctor told me that sometimes our bodies try to tell us things and when we ignore them long enough, we get shut down. Being shut down had a good side to it. Yes, I’m building my mileage, but there’s zero pressure. I’ve lost 7 of the 12 pounds I gained and I’m just plugging along doing my thing. It’ll happen. Right now I’m trying to go with the flow and be happy.
Originally published at https://www.momof18.com.
Jenn is Mom of 18, Transformational Coach for Christian women, host of At A Crossroads with The Naked Podcaster, Author, Runner, Minimalist, & Healthy Lifestyle Advocate
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