Sometimes a little crazy brings back my sanity

I had a mental breakdown the other day. I locked myself in my room and shut the world out. I think everyone gets to that point in their lives, but maybe we don't admit it. Well, I will! I have no problem letting the world know I put myself on time out. Everyone needs 'me' time, but I think so few people actually take the time for themselves. We are so busy with every day life, running kids back and forth from place to place, going to the grocery store, Target, post office and library, making sure the house is clean, getting dinner ready, giving kids baths and putting them to bed. It's exhausting just reading that, yet we all do it on a daily basis. Most of the time, by the time I sit down and have 5 minutes to think to myself, it's 10:30.

While I will readily admit I enjoy the hustle and bustle of all the running and chaos, my brain does fry once in awhile. I decided to take a bath using Arbonne's Unwind Bath Salts and finally get started on reading "The Shack" by William P. Young that a good friend borrowed me last fall. My mind never shut down and I couldn't concentrate on the words in the book, and I found myself getting slightly crabbier than I already was. That's the opposite of what I was trying to do, so I decided to go to bed for the night.

The next morning, I packed up the kids and we headed off to get lunch, go to the Minnesota Children's Museum and bring Ladybug to my mom. I started to stress before we left... packing for 3 kids plus daycare, as well as making sure my daughter had everything for grandma's house wasn't exactly relaxing, and the state of mind I was in (FRIED!!) certainly did not help. I was determined to get out of the house though!! Three bags full of 12 diapers, package of wipes, two bottles, two kinds of formula, bottles of water, snacks, change of clothes, first aid kit, diaper cream, lotion, sanitizer, sunscreen, blankets, teething toys, sippy cups, etc, etc, etc, we were off and ready to go. The kids are excited and screaming, bouncing off the walls and I am ready to rip my hair out. But we are still going....

When we get there, there are a ton of families dealing with the same thing - kids are crazed maniacs! Running from thing to thing, trying this and trying that. Making paper, blowing bubbles, driving the bus, pushing mini carts at the grocery store, cooking dinner, playing guitar, painting their face. Pretending to be a bird, an ant, a skunk. Playing with Curious George and climbing the rocket. Sounds like pure chaos, doesn't it?

It wasn't.

Look at the smiles on the kids faces. Look at the smiles on the parents faces. Kids are having fun and making memories, all while they are learning hands on. They are pretending to be adults, while the adults get to be kids again! Watching their kids glow with excitement and some of them getting involved like their kids - making paper, blowing bubbles, driving the bus, pushing mini carts at the grocery store, cooking dinner, playing guitar, painting their face. Pretending to be a bird, an ant, a skunk. Playing with Curious George and climbing the rocket. Sounds like pure fun, doesn't it?

It sure was!

I couldnt' help but smile as my kids played and learned and explored. Their smiles were contagious! With all the happiness I saw through my kids eyes, I forgot about my stress and crabbiness. Just more proof that sometimes a little crazy brings back my sanity!!