When Life Smooshes Your Brain

Smoosh

Smooshes:

Squeezes your brain into a big pile of mush.

How do you know when enough is enough? To stop pushing the things that aren’t coming naturally to fit into your days? For me blogging has become one of those things. I started off with a hiss and a roar, wrote some of the best things that I have ever written in my life and then I just all of a sudden ran out of words. Some of the things I felt compelled to write were cathartic. Healing. Some were controversial in a sense (gender disappointment is a known topic of derision) and some were ‘tie your tummy up in knots’ nerve wracking to publish (hello hunt for the father who doesn’t know I exist – now the potential father who does know I exist but claims never to have met my mother so either she lied for some reason or he’s in denial/has a terrible memory). The posts I wrote about mum were probably the most healing of the lot. Losing a parent is probably going to happen to all of you at some time in your lifetime and it’s a lonely experience. I think whether you are young or old, it doesn’t make the pain any easier. Some could argue fairness (hell, I know I did! In what world does losing your life to cancer at 43 seem fair?) but that’s life isn’t it. Unpredictable at best, heartbreaking at worst.

My fun posts about my boys were probably my favourite. I started this blog in humour before touching on more serious notes. I love to write in humour, it’s how I live my life. Full of jokes and sarcasm and way too many swear words! But this winter has been a rough one with sickness and a bit of a crazy busy schedule of a new routine with a new school starter (in NZ they start school on their actual 5th birthday). After a thorough back and forth over the potential fit for him at a few schools, we decided on one outside of our suburb. A 15 minute drive to be precise (20 in traffic) and that has altered my entire morning. I do one drop off of the youngest in my area before driving to drop off the other and stay with him until the bell rings, then drive to the train station to park, catch the train, walk to work starting at 10am these days (but leaving the house at 8.15am!). I then work until 5.30pm, walk back to the train station and catch the 6pm train to my car and drive home, generally arriving at 6.50pm. By the time I get the kids settled to bed and sit down it’s between 8 and 9pm. And of course I need to be in bed by 10pm to have any semblance of enough sleep to be energetic enough to pull it off the next day! Is it little wonder my brain is too fried to find the extra brain power to write?

I’ve spoken to lots of bloggers lately who have felt the same. With winter comes sickness, darkness and cold. Cold is best tackled with a warm blanket on the couch and a marathon of addictive mind numbing television. Or a book and a hot coffee. Or bed with its electric blanket and a dog or cat asleep on your feet. I can’t speak for everyone but I think when you are frying your brain with a busy schedule it can stomp all over your capacity to form coherent words. That’s how I feel.

I love my little slice of the internet but I’ve decided that I need to refill my glass to the top to be able to form the words to write here, at least to write something of substance. So yes, I’m sporadic in my posts. I’m not saying goodbye, I’m just saying sorry that my writing is a little infrequent at the moment! Until I get something better in place with my routine (if I can!) I won’t be writing as frequently. But I will be writing sometimes. I hope you can bear with me!

Do you ever get burned out and give up on something you used to love? Do you ever take time out for you?

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 Linking up with: #IBOT @ Essentially Jess 

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15 thoughts on “When Life Smooshes Your Brain

  1. I have been blogging for over eight years and I feel like the first years were oh so sporadic. I think that I have the ability to write more now because I am a stay-at-home-mum and I like the community I find online – but things could change when little people start school and I return to work. Gosh, your days are long and you’re doing a magnificent job – so any time you want to share, I’ll be here to listen.

  2. Absolutely the best thing to do! I have taken many breaks over the 7 years I’ve been blogging and it’s only ever been a good thing! Blogging is like everything else in life, it ebbs and it flows, sometimes you have heaps to say, other times you need to say it all offline and recharge before you’re ready to say it online again. Taking a break is the best thing xx
    #teamIBOT

  3. Hello Haidee, a break and then a return when it feels good sunds so much the right thing to do. You have a really demanding schedule, work, children, commute… and looking after yourself.

    I reckon that blogging can be part of the looking after yourself at times, but when it isn’t, it isn’t.

    Winter can end as soon as it likes in my opinion – get my some sunshine!

  4. I feel like that quite regularly and I have to remind myself that there is no pressure to write. If there is it comes from myself entirely and sometimes I’m just unfair on myself because life is hectic and demanding. I get the whole new routine thing. I’ve got a new preppie and it’s added a whole new dimension to this parenting gig. I thought school was going to make things easier but sometimes it just doesn’t. Winter this year too has slapped us hard with constant sickness and overwhelming sleep deprivation. That is a real creativity stealer.
    When I write I also want it to be authentic and meaningful. I don’t want it to ever feel like a chore so sometimes I have to remind myself it’s okay to skip this week because it’s a shitty week and I can’t manage it. It’s good to let yourself off the hook! I hope by writing this post you’ve reached that place xx
    Vicki @ Knocked Up & Abroad recently posted…Living With The One Year Old Mango BabyMy Profile

  5. When I started, I wrote 2-3 stories each week, then I realised I could not sustain that with a full-time job; just like parenting, studying part-time and general running of a household.
    So, now I write once a week, and aim for about 200-500 words if the story warrants it.
    I also found that my friends don’t want to read long blogs, hence shortening them. But even then, they prefer to read perhaps the opening statement and like it on Facebook. Once again, which is why I send my stories through my Facebook site just to let my friends know about my next blog. So yes be kind to yourself.

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