Amaze Yourself & Do Less

Do Less magnet by Artfrombeing on Etsy. Click image for more.

We had the unfortunate event of a very sick child this past weekend. At least a few to-dos on my to do-lists had to be scrapped. We were left with the very basic, very simple of days.

In other words, relaxing.

No one I know has more t0-do lists than I do. At least, my husband seems to think this is the case. I always have lofty goals. I always have running lists. Crafts, writing projects, do-it-yourself goodies … the lists are constantly updated {thanks, Pinterest!} and always a work-in-progress.

And yet I know more than anyone that the pressure to do those fun, creative, awesome, amazing, wonderful, can’t-live-without-them things is 100 percent on me, myself and I.

I feel this unrealistic desire to do things, all the time and constantly. And, I’m sure I’m not alone, I often put that same pressure on my children.

And now they are obssessed with doing things, too.

So when Sick Girl slept all day, I realized that my other daughter felt a bit lost without her. She could entertain herself but that wasn’t what she was used to doing and so she was constantly saying that she’s bored. She was used to either myself, her dad or her sister filling her days.

Boredom just isn’t our style. Well, not mine anyway.

I let her be bored anyway.

I’m learning to appreciate boredom. First encounter with appreciating boredom happened when I took two different weeks off work just to be home with our daughters during their school breaks last year. Mid-way through that first week off of work and just being at home, not doing much of anything, and I came up with this blog idea. Mid-way through the second week, I came up with a really GREAT non-fiction book idea.

Tell me boredom doesn’t lead to great things. Tell me.

Not just that. Boredom helps children problem-solve and be more creative. I was bored A LOT as an only child. Some could argue that that boredom did wonders for me, my creativity and imagination!

Parents who don’t or can’t do all these fancy learning projects that cost a lot of money and time do not need to worry — letting children be bored is perfectly OK.

Parents who don’t or can’t do all these fancy learning projects that cost a lot of money and time do not need to worry — letting children be bored is perfectly OK.

So, I’m trying to “entertain” less for my children and, rather, be simply entertained by them, their imaginations and free spirits. This child-centered approach will take some getting used to but they are old enough now to take more control over how they fill their free time. {So long as it’s not TV!}

It’s also all part of being mindful and not worrying if we’re doing enough or being enough or teaching enough. It’s all enough. Just showing up is enough. Just sitting there, paying attention is enough. Looking them in their eyes, is enough. Laughing at their silly jokes? Enough. Playing that game that they made up and you’re destined to lose? Enough.

Will it be hard not to fill our every free moment with stuff to do? Absolutely. Will we survive? Fairly certain we will. This doesn’t mean I will not play with them because I will always stop what I’m doing for that. I will also still offer suggestions if they ask me.

But I’m not going to force my adult agenda on them, at least not all the time.

I’ll also do less of other things that fill that void for myself, too. Maybe I’ll read more and clean less.

Or, maybe less Pinning in the middle of the day …

Eh, nevermind on that.