How do you stay sane?

[WendyK]

I'm feeling rather overwhelmed these days. Our homeschool seems to be draining the life out of me. I'm not feeling so in love at the moment. We just had a break not long ago, so it isn't that. I really think I have just lost my sense of humor.

What are some ways I can stop going crazy? How do you deal when life is getting the best of you?

[Elaine]

Vodka.




























:lol:

I'm sorry, Wendy. There are just days that are overwhelming. You have to do something just for you. Go for a walk. Go for a run. Sit outside with a cup of coffee. Tie the kids up and go shopping.;)

Hang in there.:grouphug:

[WendyK]

Vodka.




























:lol:

I'm sorry, Wendy. There are just days that are overwhelming. You have to do something just for you. Go for a walk. Go for a run. Sit outside with a cup of coffee. Tie the kids up and go shopping.;)

Hang in there.:grouphug:

Now that made me really LOL. Thank you!

[wagnfun]

Vodka.;)

Hang in there.:grouphug:

aaahhhh-- see now i was thinking tequila :tongue_smilie:

:lol:

[Pajama Mama]

Bailey's in my coffee:cheers2:

[Mamagistra]

Bailey's in my coffee:cheers2:

:cheers2:
Amen to that! (And when you run out of coffee, just pour some o' that Irish perfection over crushed ice and sip...) :thumbup1:

[KidsHappen]

I know I'm certainly not. Far from it. We are all mad here. :svengo:

[Mrs Mungo]

KidsHappen stole my line! I didn't know I was supposed to be sane, I'm doing it wrong!

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I know I'm certainly not. Far from it. We are all mad here. :svengo:

Sanity is overrated. And some days darn near unattainable.

[Twinmom]

Sanity is overrated. And some days darn near unattainable.

:lol:

[Mom2legomaniacs]

My line is already there too. I don't think I am sane some days.

But, when life gears up, I shut down. If things are too much, my body tells me. My tenseness tells me and something has got to give. I have spent the past 6 months or more cutting out stuff left and right. I couldn't handle it. Just when things started getting better, life threw some more stuff at me and I am wacky again. So, how to refresh? I knit. A lot. I ignore the house cleaning, a lot. I tell my dh when I need things and what I need. He helps with what he can to allow me to get better in my head.
This weekend, he is planning on taking the boys to visit MY family. I am not going. My older is having a birthday next week. We were going to be having 2 sets of visitors. Now, we will have none. The grands will see the boys. I will have a weekend alone to relax and recharge. Next weekend, the boys will be camping. Another recharge for me. Dh understands these times are vital to me and is very accommodating. They aren't often, but when I need them, he does what he can.

I also switch things around a bit. Take a field trip. Cut out normal subjects and do alternate things for a day or two. Have the kids teach each other. Do something crazy with them. That also helps.

But staying sane? An ongoing process that I am not sure I will ever reach the point of.


(((wendy))) I understand! Believe me, I do!

[Kim in Appalachia]

But this past year, right before Christmas, I thought I would crack, and then I got sick. I was very sick for a month. When I recovered I decided to focus more on me. I started running and doing Pilates. I am careful about my diet, making sure I have special healthy treats for me (for me, that's chocolate soy milk, and yogurt). I make sure I get some alone time.

Find what rejuvenates you, a day at the spa, time alone to read, exercise, what ever. But find time to recharge.

And I don't care for vodka, but I do enjoy a glass of wine every evening.:D

Kim

[mcconnellboys]

Sane? Are we *supposed* to actually be sane to do this? Hmmmmmm..... I'll have to think about that one.....

Maybe I'll go buy a bottle of Port to help me think.....

Regena

[mcconnellboys]

Mad as Hatters, LOL! All switch seats!

Regena

[elegantlion]

I've had so much stress in other areas of my life lately that homeschooling is the one area where I find sanity!!! that and the hammock in my backyard.

Oh, that and writing a book. I don't drink anymore, but one of my characters enjoys a nice sip of vodka once in a while. Okay, maybe more than once in a while. :001_huh:

[iquilt]

Chai tea from Starbucks :) Not sane over here, just taking it one day at a time. Dh is also one who will take the kids for the weekend while I get to stay in a nice quiet house, or send me away to a quiet hotel for the night. Either way I get some quiet time, and that seems to be what I really crave. I second knitting, I find that even 20 minutes of knitting in the middle of the day can really make me feel as if I accomplished something concrete for the day.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Chai tea from Starbucks :) Not sane over here, just taking it one day at a time. Dh is also one who will take the kids for the weekend while I get to stay in a nice quiet house, or send me away to a quiet hotel for the night. Either way I get some quiet time, and that seems to be what I really crave. I second knitting, I find that even 20 minutes of knitting in the middle of the day can really make me feel as if I accomplished something concrete for the day.

Every time I read your name, I read "i guilt." And invariably I say, "i guilt, too."

:001_huh: :D

[j.griff]

No, No, NO! RUM! And Corona! :D :cheers:

[OnTheBrink]

How do I stay sane? Well, I'm not sure I am, but I do need encouragement and "tank-filling" from time to time. Sometimes I'll get lost in a good book, sometimes I just sit on my hiney and watch movies. Sometimes I treat myself to a Starbucks or something creamy and decadent from Culver's and just relax.

Hang in there. Spring is coming. Perhaps some green and some sun and some warm breezes will rejuvenate you. :grouphug:

[iquilt]

Every time I read your name, I read "i guilt." And invariably I say, "i guilt, too."

:001_huh: :D
That's OK, the first time my dh saw it he said "I quit", wow that's a strong name just because you quit public school:tongue_smilie:. So I had to point out the "l" for him, but now it's too late. He teases me about quitting....

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

That's OK, the first time my dh saw it he said "I quit", wow that's a strong name just because you quit public school:tongue_smilie:. So I had to point out the "l" for him, but now it's too late. He teases me about quitting....

:D

[dangermom]

Quiet Time after lunch is huge for me. And chocolate (since I don't drink!). And I don't do nearly as much housework as I should--I'm sitting here in a virtuous glow because I just cleaned the bathrooms, but truthfully I only did it because we're having a birthday party on Saturday--and I read a lot more than I "should." Also I sew--that keeps me going, because I'm creating something neat. And then there's the Internet.

:willy_nilly:

[gardenschooler]

Sitting and reading this board relaxes me. It gets my mind off things (and on to other people's worries!). But sanity has never been my goal. I just don't have any guilt over the things I don't do.

[KidsHappen]

And I thought, I can relate. :)

[GVA]

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."

My life isn't entirely what I had hoped for at this point of life either, in fact it's down right hard most of the time with multiple sanity-shaking threads going on at the same time, all the time. It's been that way for about 5 1/2 years now too with almost no break. Not a thing I do about it either. I think that's the hardest part. Just accepting that life is hard, and going on.

My thoughts are with you!

[WendyK]

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."

My life isn't entirely what I had hoped for at this point of life either, in fact it's down right hard most of the time with multiple sanity-shaking threads going on at the same time, all the time. It's been that way for about 5 1/2 years now too with almost no break. Not a thing I do about it either. I think that's the hardest part. Just accepting that life is hard, and going on.

My thoughts are with you!

That sounds about right. LOL! :iagree:

[elizabeth]

I really do these things this time of year especially. I am darn sick of whiny family members. I am ready to climb the walls from the weather as we are in Iowa and it has been unseasonably cold. So-I pick up some seeds, peat pots and see what comes up...seriously, I have literally torn open packets ,poured seeds over a sterile medium within the last hour. I started a new x stitch of St Basils cathedral it should take 6 months or so... When I am in a really foul mood I like to read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson to warm the cockles of my twisted little heart. Not familiar with it? Gothic, psychological horror at its finest....you will never look at an antique sugar bowl the same way again-promise!!!

[JWSJ]

We separate the kids. The stress is drasticly reduced when you have only one.

If that doesn't work, gin and tonic is consumed.

[Carol in Cal.]

(Not me!)

[Frontier Mom]

I just take a teacher workday. I declare I am on a one day vacation and plop my boohiney in a chair and read or tinker on the computer. I think a missed day of school is better than a grouchy Mom all day.

I think we all feel this way at some point, just recognize it and declare a day off. After all, you deserve it!!

And, if all else fails, I run away to Caribou and hang out by the fireplace. It is absolutely glorious!!;)

[ArwenA]

I know I'm certainly not. Far from it. We are all mad here. :svengo:

I'm with you on that!
You call having eight kids and being a homeschool mom sane??:confused:

[Remudamom]

Find something you like to do and then do it. Shall I send you a horse?

And don't listen to any of those girls but griff. Rum is the only way to go.

[dragons in the flower bed]

IWhat are some ways I can stop going crazy? How do you deal when life is getting the best of you?

Wow. I am crazy. Really, certifiably.

Last night my partner came home and started telling me about work and even though I was trying to maintain that sane facade, I burst into tears and whimpered, "Everyone's been telling me things ALL DAY!" He put the kids to bed. He cleaned the living room. He brought me tea and cheese and crackers. All I remember is sitting on the couch in a daze while he did these things and occasionally said, "Baby, you're okay."

Today he took the kids out to the park. I sat on the couch for the whole hour staring in to space with a goofy smile on my face, thinking, "No one will make me get up. No one will interrupt this!" and feeling like I could fly away on the happiness from that one idea. When he and the kids came back, I was okay again. If experience serves, I'll be okay for the next six months or so. Then it will happen just like that again.

This constant, constant being available is an enormous undertaking, and everyone tells us what a privilege it is -- and heck, it is -- but it would sure be nice if we at least got paid sick leave.

Moms can heave cars off their kids. And some of us do, daily. Don't imagine it's not a big deal. And remember to take care of yourself.

[LizzyBee]

Bailey's in my coffee:cheers2:

Ah, man, that reminds me ---

I have some Bailey's ice cream in the freezer.

What am I doing, reading the boards when I could be eating Bailey's ice cream!!!!!!

[Chris in VA]

Life has gotten the better of me, lots of times. I was treated for major depression when my boys were only 3 and 1, and I wouldn't go back to that time for any amt of money.

Once, I started writing a song that went,

"If I had only known,
Which way my vining life would grow
I doubt I'd still be here--
Still, I'd be, in clear blue water and away..."

I was suicidal and didn't even know it--I just kept looking at the canals along the street (in S. Florida) and thinking how it would be to just jump in and drift away. But then I thought how much my children would suffer without me. I'll stop there, but it's just to say, be aware-- be careful to not get too
overwhelmed--fill your tank with whatever it is that refreshes you. All the suggestions for Mike's or vodka or whatever are funny, and tongue in cheek, but do be sure to pick something more effective and longer lasting than that (and with less side effects!). Can your hubby help? Can you attack your "anxiety list?"
I have this list in my head of all the things that are subtly making me anxious--looking at the messy towel closet on my way to the shower, paying down debt, knowing my fridge is dirty (I have a thread of anxiety from unfinished housework!), that sort of thing. If I "cross something off" of the list, I suddenly feel so much better--I often say I didn't realize I was feeling so heavily burdened by such a little thing. Perhaps you have a few things you could cross off that might make you feel better.

Hang in there. It's not supposed to be easy, it doesn't have to be fun all the time, but it is supposed to be doable--how's your faith? That's my number one way of coping, of course, but it may not be yours. Find whatever it is that recharges you, and do it. You are important, and your needs matter.:001_smile:

[Virginia Dawn]

I stay sane by letting go of my desire to be in control of everything. When I forget to do that I don't like myself.

[inquirer]

I stay sane by working out my frustrations with Pilates and running. i find that if I have a goal for MYSELF I do much better with my kids.

That and shopping and lunch with my girlfriends always work.