I got a message today that was basically the nicest bucket of cold water dumped upon my head.
The person was writing to me about decision fatigue.
I’d made it clear that this week had been a sort of challenging one (please see photographic evidence here), and she was gently reminding me that this time of year is so packed with decisions – what curricula materials to buy and from where; trying to create a new routine; new outside activities; should I hire that Spanish tutor …
It’s enough that my husband’s recent request that I ask a neighbor about borrowing his Shop-Vac almost made me cry with frustration.
Is it just me that feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, and I’m just one misworded text away from everything crumbling?
So it was a friendly water-dump (the message – not the literal one that required the Shop-Vac), because suddenly it made more sense why this all feels like it’s A LOT.
Because it is.
And I really struggle with decisions, even micro ones.
I think that’s why I’ve been eating so many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches lately.
I mean, yes, they are delicious, but I’ve had one every day this week.
Sometimes it’s been a quick lunch, but other times it’s been something fast and protein-ish to keep me from falling apart.
I estimate I’m about 30 percent ground peanuts and sticky jelly at this point. The sandwiches could be physically keeping me together as well as emotionally.
But the ease can’t be beat. I don’t even mix up jam flavors. No decisions = No stress.
And I’m again so grateful for my homeschool sister Cait, who reminded me that I need to give “back-to-school” 6 weeks. That’s the mantra in traditional schools for teachers, students and parents.
It takes time to set rhythm and routines, and in the meantime, there are lots of decisions, and for some of us, that’s hard and so we need toddler lunches to keep us from yelling or throwing our belongings.
Speaking of decisions, a few weeks ago I made some big choices about our bookshelves.
Interestingly, we bought this house for the library, and yet displaying all of our books at once was not working here.
It actually all comes back to jam, and you can read about here.
Signing off from one week into my 6 weeks,
Kara
P.S. If you struggle with making decisions too, this is my favorite book on the topic!
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