Expecting Our Second Baby Saved Me From Total Burnout

I was on the verge of burnout

Have you ever avoided a hard question when the answer had the potential to change your life?

For me, it happened when I was pregnant with my second baby and I realized I was on the verge of burnout.  It was an afternoon in mid August and my one-year-old was napping upstairs.  The sticky summer air was drifting in the open patio door. I was sitting with a pen in my hand and my belly tucked under the kitchen table.

I finally asked myself the question I’d been avoiding

On the table was the list I’d made of things to get done in my third trimester before the baby arrived. My list spanned everything from frozen meal prep and nursery organization to designing and sewing fall styles for my clothing brand. As I looked at it I felt an uneasiness in my chest.

Ever since graduating college, through my job as a seamstress, my dad’s cancer, my marriage, my move to rural Wisconsin and the birth of my son, growing my sustainable clothing brand was what I’d been working towards.  But as I became a wife, a mom, and a homemaker, the title of budding-small-business-owner became harder and harder to wear.  It started to compete with the other things I wanted to be.

As I looked at my list I finally allowed myself to ask the question I’d been avoiding.  What on this list do I actually want to do? 

What do I want?

Life had remolded the desires in my heart

I watched my one-year-old sleep on the baby monitor and felt his sister kick in my belly. It was so clear how fleeting this time was. I wanted to be present for it.

I wanted to enjoy the last trimester of pregnancy and feel like I had space for rest and preparation.  I wanted to nurture health and happiness in myself, my babies, my marriage, and my home.  I wanted space to enjoy this season of life.

The truth was, life had remolded the desires in my heart and I needed to humble myself to what was meant for me right now.  I had to accept that being ‘just’ a mom was enough.  It’s more than enough. 

This is my ‘mom blog’ where I can’t wait to share my motherhood journey with you.