It’s easy to overstuff, you guys. Our dryers. Our lives. And that’s what causes burnout!
Hey there! I’m Mikala—a wife, mother of 5, family doctor, well-being advocate, and the author of Ordinary on Purpose. Each month, my writing reaches millions of women, but I am thrilled to be connecting with YOU. I’m truly grateful to have you here!
It’s easy to overstuff, you guys. Our dryers. Our lives. And that’s what causes burnout!
Can I invite you to ignore the extra flesh and the new gray hairs and the soft tummy and even the fine crow’s feet? And instead, will you zoom in very close and notice your eyes?
I think we’re missing out on the fabulous beauty midlife has to offer while trying to cover our age spots and blemishes with creams or smooth our crow’s feet with medicated patches or inject away our forehead wrinkles.
No one told me just how amazing it is to watch this little person you met at his very first breath GROW UP. Even way up over your own head!!!
None of it feels shiny! And it certainly isn’t perfect, but it IS beautiful.
I guess you should get up earlier every morning so you have plenty of time to pray and read and do morning yoga and somehow be thinner, prettier, healthier, younger, and more self-confident while volunteering, working outside your perfectly organized home, and putting your marriage first all while spending more one-on-one time with each child…
It’s sobering to know that before IV antibiotics were widely available, my daughter’s particular diagnosis had a blindness rate of 20% and with certain complications, a mortality rate >40%.
Turns out our health isn’t all or none. We don’t have to do everything to be healthy. And we can make a lot of progress toward feeling well.ish if we simply start!
Me. Family. Good friends. Connection. Real food. Nature. Pets. Comfortable footwear. Fresh baked bread. My tattered bible while soaking in a warm tub before bed.
Ask your family what they love most and give yourself the gift of a beautiful Christmas season by doing just the few things they feel matter most.
If you feel like you are failing your child, I have a story for you.
I remember that I am not wired to carry the weight of the world. It isn’t fair.
“Please, God. Please. Can You please make it abundantly clear You are here?” And maybe it sounds crazy…but He did.
You’ll be a little sad as he grows, but you’ll mostly be so grateful to be a part of it all. It is such a gift to watch him GROW!!
Listening to my body. Moving her and feeding her and caring for her. Stopping whenever I need a rest. Noticing other people and flowers and blue skies and sunshine and dogs. And just marveling at the world.
But these days, hugs are few and far between. Usually given with a limp arm. Or the ‘lean in’ with no arms at all!!
Is it here? Maybe here? Maybe once I get there? Or maybe if I could just have what SHE has?
And showing up to this mess and noise through exhaustion (and sometimes tears) is part of raising a beautiful family!!