Our family is just two weeks away from having our 6th child and I feel behind. Usually at this point in pregnancy I have the house just right, everyone moved to their respectful rooms, laundry done, cupboards stocked so that I don't have to do any shopping after the baby. I am even on top of things like haircuts, and dentist appointments. I am usually ahead, and then I find ways to do more, but not this time. This time things are just fine. And that is the problem. I am just getting by. I can't seem to get ahead.
Not right now. I look around and there is soooo much that I need to do, I don't know where to start. I don't feel on top of the regular laundry, let alone extra time to reorganize or get ahead. Feeling behind is stressful.
I have been trying to come up with a plan to tackle the "behind-ness" and I keep going back to a conversation I had with my grandmother a few years ago.
After we had our second child I was talking to my grandma. We were standing on her driveway talking about the changes that come with two kids.
As we stood there that day she looked at me and said..."Heather, don't forget to KISS."
I was confused, KISS, what was she talking about. (Please don't tell me my grandma is going to talk about the birds and bees.)
"What grandma?"
"You know, KISS..." she said
Keep. It. Simple. Stupid
I laughed as she looked at me and repeated, "Heather, Keep It Simple Stupid!"
I have a smart grandma. Funny too! KISS has become my new mantra.
Over the last 14 years of marriage and 5 kids, we have collected things and stuff. It was all important at some point in time, but not now. There are things I have held on to, that I am ready to let go of. Slowly but surely as our family has grown and gotten busier, there is more than I can manage.
KISS applies to every aspect of our lives. We need to keep our stuff simple, or schedules simple, our relationships simple. We need to avoid surrounding ourselves with more than we can manage, taking on more than we can handle, or trying to run faster than we have energy. Otherwise, we miss out on our families, because we are so stressed managing all the "stuff".
Time to get back to basics, and keep it simple. I have been stupid long enough.
Anyone else need to remember to K.I.S.S?
Heather Ann Johnson M.S. is a wife, mother, speaker, and has been teaching at Brigham Young University for nearly 13 years. She and her husband have 5 children with one on the way.
