When You’re Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

Struggle is inevitable.  The thought resonates with my very core.  As crazy as it may sound, the thought actually calms me as I listen to one of my favorite YouTubers on my way to work.

On the surface, one may think quite the opposite.  One may assume that struggle produces strife.  Strife produces stress, and stress certainly does not produce calm.  So how in the world can the thought that struggle is inevitable produce calm?

Yet, this weekend as I prepped boxes for the kids to go back to school, tried to find the bottom of the laundry basket, and spent over an hour scrubbing toothpaste from cabinets, counters, walls, and doors, I stopped being tired.  I was tired of being tired.  I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I wondered if in the future, we may be able to afford a house cleaner to come 2-4 times a month as I vacuumed bedrooms and hallways for the first time in over a month, but at the end of each segment of time, I found new energy…not because all of a sudden my house was beautiful enough for social media but because I accepted that the struggle is quite real.

I accepted that some days I will have renewed energy and unending patience, and other days I will scream because I am at the end of a less than short fuse.  I accepted that life is a work in progress and all works in progress are just adventures waiting to happen one moment at a time.  Some of those adventures are full of moments when I wish that time would stand still.  Others I would prefer to wish away.  I thought of Jack from one of my favorite shows This is Us.  He said, “You’re gonna find your balance…And then you’re gonna lose it, and then you’re gonna find it again.  That’s the ride” (Source).  That is the adventure.

“Adventure isn’t hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain.  Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles in life.” ~ John Amatt

I started this blog because I was searching for balance in chaos.  I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I felt like there were others out there who were also sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I just needed to find them.  I just needed to find my way.  So here I am three years later, still just as lost as ever.

As I discuss my current situation with my Best Friend, I tell Him that I am still on here talking in the same circles, about the same things, more confused than ever.  I tell Him that people have got to be sick and tired of hearing about me being sick and tired.

He smiles down and asks, “But are you growing?”

It is now my turn to smile.  I think of all the cute spaces I created.  I think of the to-do list that I finally made work after over 20 years of disaster and disorganization.  I think of all the areas I have decluttered.  I think of time I have learned to chunk.  I think of all the Pinterest photos I have created, projects gone right.  But most of all, I think of all the memories I have made along the way – with my children, with my husband, with my friends, with my family.  Some of my fondest memories are a direct result of my greatest tragedies.

So I will end with advice from me to you, but mostly from me to me, when you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, remember that struggle is inevitable.  Life is not about balance.  Life is about adventure.  If we could all learn to embrace that struggle WILL happen and stop trying to avoid it at all costs, if we could just trust our Best Friend to do His job, then perhaps we could sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

“Fill your life with adventures, not things.  Have stories to tell not stuff to show.” (Source)

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What are some ways that you get through being sick and tired of being sick and tired?

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I’ve been tagged in A Guy Called Bloke and K9 Doodlepip!‘s “3.2.1. Quote Me!” challenge. Here are the rules:

• Thank the person who tagged you (Thank you, Pics and Posts)
• Post two (2) quotes for the dedicated “Topic of the Day”: Adventure
• Select three (3) bloggers to take part in ‘3.2.1 Quote Me!’

Not nominating bloggers but here are three of my faves for your viewing pleasure in no particular order:

1. Ruth at Planted by Living Water
2. Marva at Sun Sparkle Shine
3. Ayanna at 21 Flavors of Splendor

I also have links to some of my faves on the side bar so peruse at your leisure.

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Linked at Moments of Hope, Faith n’ Friends, Inspire Me Monday and BVNetwork