Every year for the past five years, we have gone camping with some friends and their kids. Aww, how nice you might be thinking, but wait, let me put this in perspective for you. We have four kids under the age of 7. We have endured for those years, tent camping through pregnancies, colic and babies. Use your imagination, it is hectic but in all the craziness I have found that the key to keeping it all together is getting little time out moments for myself.
To that end, on this most recent trip, when our over tired 10 month old decided that he was not going to sleep at his regular bedtime and that he would scream unless he was carried - we went for a walk. The walk started out of frustration to get him to bed and ended with us both feeling relaxed. At first, all I could think about was why he wouldn’t go to sleep but as I became more resigned to the fact that this was going to be a long walk, I started looking around. In looking around, I noticed things that were obviously there all along but I was oblivious to before that time. I saw giant blue jays, robins, cardinals and finches darting around. I noticed how many of the trees made a lovely canopy to walk under. I observed the subtle differences in the trees and how the leaves danced to their own melody in the wind. I realized that I started taking deeper breaths and then once aware of that change, I consciously started to take full round breaths. The walk was fantastic, my mood changed from anger and frustration to feeling like I could take on the world.
The baby didn’t fall asleep, we had to go on a car ride to do that but he certainly was much calmer and I was certainly in a better place to roll with it.
The point I think, is that we know it feels good when stop, relax and recharge. So find your camp walk as it may be and try to take moments to do it in whatever capacity your life allows!