For four years, we’ve balanced managed to get through our busy weeks of shuttling kids to daycare, commuting to and from our offices, my husband’s weekly travel schedule and all the other activities of life.
And it finally caught up with us.
We felt like we were on the hamster wheel of life pursuing the “American Dream” but it wasn’t OUR dream. We were stressed, my health wasn’t stellar, our daughter hated going to preschool, and we were blowing through the first year of our son’s life. Not exactly memories we were going to cherish forever.
So we decided to give our lifestyle an overhaul. A major overhaul. I quit my job. We withdrew our kids from care outside our home. We put our house up for sale and are moving to another city. All in an effort to put the life back in our years.
All the major changes have made a major impact but little changes, everyday changes have shaped our new life, too. We’ve removed those things that took time or money away and didn’t give much back.
Reduce commitments. We found that having too many weekly activities added stress so we carefully choose what we’re committed to weighing both the positive benefits and negative consequences of the commitment.
Reduce distractions. My husband jokes that I could never live without a computer and while I argue, he’s probably right. I love catching up on the news, keeping up with friends, reading blogs and online shopping. But a lot of what was coming in to my Inbox and was on my blog reader was junk. I’d scroll through Facebook just to find a few people’s status. I was wasting my precious free time. So I unsubscribed to anything that wasn’t necessary and deleted any blog that I didn’t find useful or inspiring often. I hid or “unfriended” and “unliked” a lot of people and pages on Facebook. I did the same with magazines and books. I’d ask myself what reading them would add to my life.
Reduce expenses. Because our household income decreased, we had to find ways to cut expenses. Some were easy – like gas for my 45 mile round trip commute. Others came with a little work – like using more coupons for grocery shopping. But the most unexpected result was that I am using my creativity more than ever. Crafting and sewing home decor instead of buying new, coming up with inexpensive activities and art projects with the kids, trying new recipes to use the groceries purchased on sale that week.
Reduce stuff. It’s true that the more stuff you have, the more time and money it takes to maintain it. I’ve put things on Craigslist and eBay that we just don’t need or use anymore. I’ve donated toys to a local children’s organization and stuff piling up in our closets to Goodwill. Overall, I’ve stopped buying as much asking myself “do we really need this?” or “will this add to or subtract from our life?”
It hasn’t been a quick or painless process. But it has been worth every difficult decision. I don’t feel like our days are a blur anymore. Each day feels just right. And we’re still pursuing a dream. But now, it’s OUR dream.
And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. – Abraham Lincoln
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