This week has been a long one. Really it has been a long month at this point.
My mom has been in the hospital, and while things are starting to trend in the right direction, it is still exhausting. The worry, the commuting to visit, the physical act of being in the hospital itself.
So I have been left feeling fatigued and like I just don’t wanna on several occasions. But life goes on despite my mom’s condition. Kids need fed. Laundry needs washed. Food needs cooked. Dishes need cleaned.
I was reminded one particular evening how doing things even when you don’t want to can really make a big difference – and it isn’t actually as difficult as it seems in the moment.
This one evening, it was almost bedtime and because of a late afternoon visit to the hospital, I had only finished dinner around 8:00 p.m.
There were still baby toys scattered around the living room, dishes in the sink, a dog needing to go out (since we are also pet sitting while my mom recovers).
It felt like a lot. Plus, I had to wash my own face and brush my own teeth still.
But I have learned over the years of adulting that these tasks often take less time than we imagine they will. So I just got started. And know what I found?
The dishes? Took me 3 minutes to load into the dishwasher. Feeling motivated by the cleared sink, I even took an extra minute to scrub the sink basin itself.
The dog? Took maybe a minute and a half to walk outside for her evening pee.
And the toys took a minute to pick up and toss in the baby’s basket.
By the time I washed my face and brushed my teeth, I felt very accomplished.
I could have gone one step farther to preset a load of laundry to delay start (so it would be ready in the morning for the dryer), but we honestly didn’t have much laundry in the dirty hamper, so I was able to skip this task.
Do the things. Even when you don’t feel like it. Tomorrow you will thank today you.