Resolutions are not made in my house. This is the third or fourth year that I will not be making resolutions. They were never kept so why spend so much time and energy preparing for ONE specific day of the year to say “I’m going to do ALL these things starting tomorrow” then in a few weeks be stressed out and burnt out trying to overhaul your life. So this year, just like last year, I’m banning resolutions in the Patton household.

When you stuff your feelings, it’s like waiting for an explosion until you finally reach the amount you can stuff. I visualize it as an older suitcase that you put in all things you had. Then you get more stuff to shove it...it barely closes then but before you know it you are opening it to shove something else in and finally it won’t shut. So you put the suitcase on the floor, hop up and down on it trying to get the clasp to reach and finally….

We’ve been in a global pandemic during an election year with major civil unrest around the world and a pretty abnormal school year for most of us so…I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a struggle some days. It’s been SEVEN LONG months of adjusting at my house. How about at yours? For most of us, any one of the things above are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the answer of “what’s been going on?” How are you REALLY doing?

We have SOOOO many distractions today and so many commitments that we take on as we feel obligated to in order to achieve success. Living this way creates a constant state of excitement that doesn’t allow for downtime without guilt. Staying busy all the time creates mental burnout.