MamaManagement

Last night I was on the floor of my daughter's room stretching while she read to us from the biography  Who are Venus and Serena Williams?.  (It's part of the "Who Was/Is" series, which we are pretty much addicted to.) We're a good third of the way into the book and she's reading to me about Venus and Serena's early teen years, right before they joined the WTA and went pro. I stopped her mid-chapter to emphasize what she'd just read...that the Williams' sisters would practice 6 hours a day, during that time, in addition to school work and regular life stuff. Isn't that amazing, I said to her. They clearly had talent, but to become the best, that's how hard they had to work. To win tournaments, to become great, to make it their job, they had to practice 6 hours a day. That's a lot of work, I said, marveling over the fact that they hit more than 100 serves everyday. Can you imagine how tired their arms must have gotten? I asked.

When things get crazy in your life and you just can't do it all, what are the first things you drop off your to-do list? I can tell you, without the least bit of hesitation, the first things to fall off mine: Exercise Meditation Healthy eating Downtime Hobbytime Sleep Which means that when I'm stressed out, the first things I stop doing are the things that help me manage stress. Brilliant, I know. Am I only one who does this? I have to believe I'm not. Nowadays, the month of May and first half of June are almost as crazy as the back half of November and the month of December. Of course, in all the wisdom of my pre-kid-self, I conveniently gave birth to my children in December and May. (Who knew?!?) So in addition to all the other craziness that we all have in those months, I also have kid birthdays. Which basically means I'm insane in May and December. It also means that I am stressed out, more likely to have anxiety attacks (a new-this-year added bo