Dark Clouds & Silver Linings

For me, this was a long break from blogging. I have been editing some future posts here and there (especially on my food blog!) but I haven't really had much to say here. The stress monster has reared its' ugly head and I've been pretty worn-down. If you don't talk to me often, you may not know all the different hats I've been wearing lately - housewife, homeschooling mom, short-order cook, gourmet chef, soccer cheerleader, yoga practitioner, yoga instructor, physical therapist, part time copywriter, part time secretary, ebay seller etc... Of course, the Fall is always a little bit like this for me. Last year I took on a new job, a new sport, a very intense Bible study and more. This year must be more demanding than I realized because I feel very taxed right now. Many times over the last week I would have rather been blogging - but was just too busy. It has started to really effect me physically. Last night, for no apparent reason, I woke up at 1AM with a panic attack! Maybe that's TMI - but there it is. Baxter took the kids off my hands this afternoon so I could catch up with some writing and I feel better but MAN I hate being a grown-up sometimes!

In keeping with the theme of this blog, I am trying to think of a silver lining to this dark cloud hanging over my day - but it's a little hard for me. I guess, like my last post, that would be Baxter. He is always willing to step in and help me out when I've taken on too much. Honestly, what would I do without him? As far as the panic attack goes, it may be less related to my stress level and more to the fact that I'm turning 32 on Wednesday. Yuck.

More than anything, maybe I just need to remind myself of my own mantra. Maybe I need to remember that joy is all around us. I just have to be open to it. Well, here's to stopping to smell the roses...