100% Real Juice: The Truth About Doing It All

Fall - you either love it or hate it. I’m in the all-things-fall camp.  The weather finally cools down, the natural colors of the season just ooze a warm and cozy tone, and the change brings a crisp refreshment of life to the hot and bothered. 

But with the new season also comes an onslaught of activities. School, soccer, ballet, gymnastics, sickness that seems to cycle its way through the house, plus all the festive activities like apple picking, corn mazes, and a day at the pumpkin patch. There are meetings to attend, meals to deliver, parties to plan, costumes to buy, laundry to fold, toilets to scrub, errands to run, returns to make, trips to take, desserts to bake, leaves to rake…and oh, right, those little ones looking to you for love, ‘hewp’, attention, and entertainment. It can all get a little, okay a lot, overwhelming. 

And we want to do it all. We want to be able to be everything to everyone. And it can feel really good to try, especially when it’s working. But also, isn’t it kind of exhausting? Anyone else? It takes a lot of humility to acknowledge and admit that your resources and abilities are as limited as they are, but when you do, there is so much freedom! Here are five ways you can fall back and enjoy the season with less stress. 

1. Sit with yourself

Take some time in the morning, before the kids are up, before the day gets crazy, to sit with yourself and feel what you need to feel. Maybe you’re already starting the day overwhelmed and need to acknowledge how intimidating the day feels. Or maybe your mind is already spinning a mile a minute with the noise of the day that you have a hard time even naming a thought or feeling. This is all good information. Be still and talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend sharing the exact same thing. Try to uncover the hardest parts of your days right now. If you’re into journaling, it can be a really helpful tool to process all this because let’s be honest, it’s hard to keep a train of thought longer than the length of a reel. 

2. Pull out the planner

Chances are it’s jam packed. You know its bad when you have to look a month out to plan a parkdate with a friend. So, what can give? If you don’t have time carved out to be a family or just enjoy one another at home, the time will most likely get scooped up by something else. In our family, my husband and I sit down together at the beginning of the month. We look at traditions for that month that we have enjoyed in years passed and write those into the calendar right then and there. That way, the month doesn’t slip away leaving us wondering what happened with the time. As mamas, we are the keepers of time, and when we say yes to something, we’re saying no to something - or someone - else. So think about what your best yes is and be okay with pulling back on the rest, even for just a season. 

3. Play Your Part

What’s the thing right now that gets you excited about doing it? Maybe it’s making cutsie lunches for the kids, or coming up with fun fall crafts for them. Or maybe you get life out of pouring into relationships, or that new project at work. That thing that you look forward to, is what you are gifted with, and the world needs your gift! We need you! So identify your strengths and go full throttle on those, doing what you do with the gusto and grit that comes naturally to you. We’re all different, so if we all tap into our own strengths, we can pull together to find balance and help each other. After all, it takes a village.

4. Ask For Help

If you find yourself in a place where you are playing your part tapping into your strengths, and you’ve cut out what can be cut out, but you’re still slammed and just feeling like you’re drowning, ask for some help! I know, it’s so much easier said than done. But chances are there is someone in your life who is not only ready and willing to do life with you, but it would probably bring them a lot of joy to do so! The hardest part is getting out of your own way, and admitting that you can’t do it all. But if you’ve identified the things you have to do personally, and the things that use your strengths, then you have a list of specifics that you can ask for help on. Think: carpooling the kiddos, going for a walk with you, your Zoe,  and the baby for some adult conversation, or trying out a meal kit subscription. You asking for help might just be the key to unlocking the door to your village!

5. Think About It

Regardless of how busy you are, the one thing that is for sure is that how you feel about it, is how you think about it. Create, choose, and think thoughts that the best version of you would think. If you say ‘I’m so overwhelmed’ in your head over and over, your brain will look for evidence that you are. And when it find’s it, you’ll think ‘gee, I’m so overwhelmed’. It’s a vicious cycle. But if instead, you choose to think thoughts like ‘I choose how I spend my time’, you’ll feel empowered to take the steps you need to live the life you want to live, day by day. 


So Mama, you want to do it all, to be everything to everyone. But by taking a step back and letting others into your story, you can find freedom to be present and experience all that the season has to offer. When we link arms and do this together, we’re unstoppable!