It recently occurred to me that I could adjust my schedule the week we come back from a trip. In all seriousness, for years and years I would try to execute all the same chores in my routine regardless of the fact that we had been away. It makes me laugh (but sometimes cry) to think of how often I jump in without ever taking into consideration the pace that yields the most peace rather than the pace that yields the most productivity.  

When we leave for a trip all cylinders are pumping. I’m running to the post office (when the package has been waiting to be mailed for a month). I’m throwing in loads of laundry (before the kids have a chance to take the clothes off their bodies). I’m returning calls (to people I haven’t talked to in months). Busy people get things done, as they say. Then we go away and we, of course, cruise at a slower speed. Why then, do I feel like I have to re-enter life going the same speed I was going when I left?

Habit. So much of the stress I have in my life is simply because I’m in the habit of doing something a certain way. While, yes, I’m a grown up—it doesn’t always cross my mind that I can get from point A to point B by using different directions.

I heard once that children are victims and adults are volunteers. In my experience, I can avoid a lot of misery by remembering that I always have the choice to pop over to the right lane and take it all a little bit slower.

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