Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Welcome to February 2019.
I hope that your first month of 2019 went the way you wanted. Maybe you made it to the gym at least once a week and dropped a few pounds. Did you abstain from having that cigarette or soda? What about saying positive things about yourself. Any and all accomplishments you did this month deserve so much praise! Congratulations! Your one month into a better you!
My New Years resolution was to be more “adult.” I’m 25, with 3 children, by now I should be able to function as an adult right? No. I have always had terrible social anxiety, I struggled with maintaining a clean house, and let’s not even talk about the piles of author-related things I need to do. My life was so hectic that it was often I forgot to brush my teeth. Something needed to change.
At the beginning of December, I started to research ways to make your life more organized. The first step was set a positive morning routine that was easy to handle and would get me up and moving. Despite my every nerve dreading my decision. I opted to wake up 30 minutes earlier.
Upon my alarm ringing at a bright and early 5:50 the first morning, I forced myself out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and actually put real clothes on. That in its self was a victory. Next, I made coffee then sat down to do my devotional time. After that, I went about my day as normal. To my surprise, I had more energy and naturally got more done during the day. For the next week that’s all I changed.
Now we are in week two of December. Christmas is right around the corner and the stress of life is piling on me every hour. I could slowly feel the tingle of depression trying to sneak up and suck me under again. But I WOULD NOT allow that to happen.
My morning routine was memorized and had now become comfortable. On days I missed out I could see a noticeable difference in how my attitude and work was affected. Now, it was time to add a little more. I made a list of things I had to get done during the day. If nothing else was done then that was fine but these few things were a necessity.
The list included: Wash all dishes, wash and put up 1 load of clothes, write for at least an hour on my novel.
For anyone else, this is just too easy. Add in a 5-year-old in kindergarten, a 4-year-old who always wanted to “help”, and a baby who had mood swings worse than myself when I was 39 weeks pregnant. Even though I tried my best, I just couldn’t do it. So, I shifted my attention to my novel. “If I could just get this done I'll have time for the rest.” Lets all laugh at that thought for a second.
Thankfully, I did finish my novel and it is currently in the trusted hands of my editors. (Who by the way will probably rip me apart when they read this blog.) Now my attention turned to my disaster of a house. Clothes were piled high, every night I had to dig through a tower of dishes just to wash a few to cook and eat on. It was the worst its ever been. Granted this mess was the aftermath of postpartum depression but I didn’t think that was a good enough reason.
(I want to make a note right here. Postpartum depression is a very serious thing. It is 100% a very good reason for my house to be dirty. If you are or think you are suffering from postpartum depression or depression of any kind PLEASE find HELP! I would have never moved past my depression without the help of my very loving and understanding mothing-in-law. She prayed for me and let me talk anything and everything in my mind regardless of how crazy it sounded. She also pointed me to scripture that would lead me out of my dark place.
So please! GET HELP! Depression of any kind is not a joke!)
My family counted on me to maintain our house. Without my patient husband, I’m sure the police would have been called on my children living in filth. Time to buckle down and make a change.
After a night of playing games at the in-laws, we made it home New Year's day. My mind was set on the project at hand. Get my house in order so I can start a routine. It would take me 2 weeks to get my house into functioning fashion. I’m not going to lie, when I put up that last basket of clean laundry, I did a little dance. Finally, my house was clean. Every day after that I continued my morning routine then started in on cleaning my house. I can officially say I have kept my house clean all month. ALL MONTH! That’s HUGE! All the while I worked on my other resolutions.
I still struggle with calling people on the phone but I have managed to prepare my promotion events for my newest novel. I have also stood my ground and swallowed my social fears in order to meet new people and widen my contact list. Overall I believe that January has been completely successful.
Although, I know I still have a long road ahead. I vow to myself and my family that I will be a better adult. My house will stay clean and I will maintain my novels.
Thank you for reading and I hope my success brings your determination.
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Copyright © 2019 by Joshlyn D. Jackson