This school year we started a new morning routine. Before we begin our school day, Peter leads a 20-minute morning stretch (preferably outside), followed by 5 minutes of box breathing (more on that in another post, but you can read what it is here), and ending with our morning prayer to start the day. All in all, it takes about 30 minutes. 

I love this morning routine. It gets everyone focused, energized, and ready to start the day—including me. But even though I know it’s good for us, some mornings I don’t want to do it. I have chores to do, a baby to feed, school prep to work on, appointments to make, and all the other little tasks that, when accumulated, have the capacity to make me feel overwhelmed by minutiae. 

This morning was one of those mornings. As I stared at the giant pile of laundry on my bed (knowing there were three more sizable loads waiting for me in the laundry room), the feeling started to creep in. Did I really need to join Peter and the kids for our morning routine today? I’m the mom, after all. Stretching and praying are great, but us adults have more important things to do. I felt a sense of suffocation. I needed to get this laundry done before it took over my bedroom!

I expressed my overwhelmed feelings to my husband and he simply said, “I think the laundry can wait.” 

I didn’t like that response at all and was inclined to ignore it and go on with the laundry. Meanwhile the kids seemed to be taking turns calling, “Come on, Mom!” from the lanai. 

There was a big decision in front of me: Do I join the family and let this pile of laundry wait? Even though it’s been waiting a few days now? 

Despite all my inclinations to the contrary, I went outside to join them. 

It was the right decision. I started the day feeling happy, energized, and grounded instead of frenetic and overwhelmed. It didn’t take away any of the day’s challenges, but it put me in the right head (and heart) space to address them from a place of serenity. Much better than the fight-or-flight mode I was in before taking time to breathe, move, and pray. 

And another happy side effect: the baby fell asleep and stayed that way for a peaceful 90 minutes. A perfect start to the school day!

I realize this is a short post, but I felt the need to celebrate the fact that when you take the time to do good things, somehow more time opens up. It’s a crazy, beautiful thing, and I just love when it happens.

The laundry did indeed wait, and I finished it later in the afternoon. Or at least, I finished one load. The other three can wait.