I Took a Hiatus and Accidentally Became a Human Juggling Act

Well, hello there! Remember me? I used to write blogs. Then I blinked, and somehow the second half of the school year passed. But don’t worry, I didn’t fall off the face of the Earth. I just got really good at juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle on a tightrope blindfolded. You know, metaphorically-don’t ask me to post a YouTube video!

Let me explain.

This past 6 months has felt like trying to run a marathon in flip-flops while carrying five backpacks and a cooler full of Waterloo. I have five (yes, FIVE) kids. They all do sports. Pretty much football, gymnastics, and cheerleading were the only thing our dinner conversations consisted of for a while. My husband and I have coached some of those sports, which means we willingly added more chaos to the chaos, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! Sure, sometimes it’s fun to just watch, but our kids will (hopefully someday!) appreciate the sacrifices we’ve made for them. Who am I kidding…it’ll be a LOT of (some)days before that happens-but that’s ok! That’s what growing up is about. Learning. Constantly learning. And as a parent-teaching. Constantly teaching.

Throw in watching kids during the day, trying to keep my farm stand full of goodies, managing an Airbnb (aka constantly replying to messages day and night-literally people will message me at 3am! Whyyyyyy?! Maybe the reason I can never get a full night of sleep!), and trying to remember if I’ve fed the dogs, turtles, and chickens… or just thought about feeding them and got distracted-and you’ve got a glimpse of my last 6 months.

…Energy? What energy?!

I reached a point where I was pulling energy from a dry well. Not even dry-dusty. Like, tumbleweed rolling through it, echoing emptiness kind of dry. The kind of dry that makes you say, “Maybe if I just lie down on this laundry pile, it’ll all go away.” Some days I felt like those America’s Funniest Video’s of baby’s falling asleep in their lunch!

And let’s talk health. Because nothing adds a little sparkle to the circus quite like your body deciding it’s going to start playing hard to get. Between doctors’ visits, mystery symptoms, and googling things I shouldn’t have googled, my health became another full-time job I didn’t apply for. I do feel like I’m a few steps closer to figuring it out though! I’ll probably write about it soon.

The Hiatus That Wasn’t Planned (But Totally Needed)

So, I took a break. Not on purpose. I didn’t plan it with a Pinterest-worthy graphic that said “See You Soon!” I just kind of… evaporated. One minute I was planning content, the next I was falling asleep standing up at the kitchen sink while washing dishes and wondering why my shirt was on inside out.

I missed writing. I missed YOU. But I needed to hit pause. Sometimes, “just keep swimming” turns into “float for a bit and hope no one notices you drifted into the neighbor’s pool.”

Now I’m back. Slightly disheveled. A little wiser. Probably still covered in flour (I bake a lot of sourdough!). But back.

I can’t promise I won’t disappear again the next time all 4 of my boys have 4 different football games in 4 different places during the week (along with 16 practices), and the Airbnb guests clog the toilet with a whole roll of TP and message me at 2am because there’s a daddy-long-leg in the kitchen. But I can promise I’ll try to keep showing up. Because writing fills my cup, and after this year, I need all the cup-filling I can get. Come on somebody!

Thanks for being here. Thanks for waiting. And if you, too, have felt like a broken vending machine of energy this year, just know you’re not alone.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go coach some cheerleaders, refill the Airbnb coffee pods, and figure out what that smell is in the minivan. Now that I think about it, the smell can wait! I really don’t feel like doing that right now 😉

Wish me luck. Or snacks. Snacks would be better. 🥨