Hey y’all. My apologies for the long absence. This may be the longest break that I’ve taken in my almost ten years of blogging. But it was also the most necessary. I was feeling burned out. Mentally drained. Unmotivated, and struggling to find balance. So I had to unplug for a bit.
It’s allergy season so I’ve been under the weather off and on. My son had AP exams, and is approaching regents time and the finish line of his junior year of high school. So it’s important that I stay on top of him and make sure that he finishes strong, while continuing to get in our necessary quality time. You can’t take a break from parenting when you’re not feeling well.
As a single parent, I also can’t take a break from running the household. Let’s not forget that I also have a day job, and do hair and makeup in the evening and on weekends. After doing the things that I had to do, I simply wanted to relax and have some time for myself. In the scheme of things, blogging simply was not a priority.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have content ideas. I have a huge content can with post ideas that I’d love to share with you guys. But I wasn’t motivated to write. Nor put in the other necessary work required as the curator of this blog. Instead of half-assing it, I decided to take a break and unplug. I didn’t give myself a set amount of time, and simply decided that I’d start writing again when I felt like it. During this break, I’ve also been sporadic on social media, and even went weeks at a time without logging in at all.
I thought that I’d feel bad about taking such a long break, but I don’t. In my absence I was able to give my son the attention he needs at this crucial time. I took time for myself to relax, read and catch up on some shows. I was even able to give more time and attention to my family. This break gave me a reality check. I’ve realized that I have even less work-life balance than I thought.
PANTS SET | SHOES | BAG | LIPSTICK
So although I’m ready to write again and get back to routine, routine now holds a different meaning for me. My routine must include work-life balance. This is a constant struggle for me. But I will continue to work at it until I get it right. My health and well being is my number one priority. I can’t get shit done when I’m not feeling my best. And I don’t function well when my life is consumed by work. At any time that I’m feeling overwhelmed, I won’t feel guilty about stepping back and taking a break to recoup.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” -Ann Lamott
