Slowing Down When Life Speeds Up
It’s springtime, which means there are a million and one things that need to be done. The calm of winter is over, and all the world from ads to friends to neighbors seem to be telling you that it’s time to get things done! You have to put in a garden and spring-clean your house, wash all the windows and change the sweaters and boots in the closet for t-shirts and sandals. Oh, and don’t forget to prepare for severe weather season, plus get ready for the end of the school year, as well as deciding what your summer is going to look like, because if you’re going on vacation then you need to be planning it right now.
I’m tired just listing off all those things, and I’ve barely started any of them. But that’s okay! I’m giving myself grace this year, and I suggest you try it too. Here are my reasons why.
1. We get to decide what we want to do, not advertisers. I know all the gardening things are going up in the store right now, but for my family, we decided to skip the garden this year and plant more perennials like berry bushes and strawberries. That means I’ll be spending less time out in the garden, which works fine for me. If you love to garden, then do, but only because you want to, not because the ads say it’s time. The same goes for any other spring or summer activity! You get to decide how you want to spend your time, no matter what the paid actors are saying. Choose you!
2. We deserve to enjoy our lives, even the busy seasons. If spending every weekend at a sports tournament is something you love, then great! If not, your child won’t be eternally damaged by being told that they’re not going to do the traveling league this year. Even if every other parent on the block is insisting on it, you get to decide how you want to spend your spring and summer! Don’t be afraid to stick to your principles and tell those nosy neighbors that you plan to slow down this year. Likely, they’ll be jealous when they’re sitting at their eighteenth away game instead of drinking a glass of iced tea by the pool.
3. It is our responsibility to prioritize our mental health. It’s been a wild few years, and we all deserve a break. Deciding to prioritize your mental health doesn’t make you lazy and selfish. It makes you responsible and smart! Nobody will value your personal (and your family’s!) mental and physical wellness like you will, so own that truth by being conscious of where you are spending your energy.
4. Slowing down helps us save money, too. If we’re less busy, we’re at home more, so we’re able to cook healthier meals at home, saving our grocery budget and our medical budget. I love to prioritize buying, cooking, and eating locally in the warmer months when the farmers market is open, and protecting my at-home time is one of the biggest ways I make that happen. In contrast to the drudgery of the grocery store, I love the farmers market, and it feels like a fun outing instead of a chore. (To read more about my farmers market tips, check out my post “How to Shop at the Farmers Market.”)
5. Lastly, a slower pace helps us connect to our families, neighbors, and communities. My next-door neighbor has a lovely front porch and loves hosting impromptu gatherings of the neighbors on summer evenings. I love those times, and if I was always away from home, I would miss out on some wonderful connections with my community. Attending community events or even just chatting with neighbors over the fence is so much more enriching than trying to buy connection by purchasing the next big thing. The store telling me I should buy patio furniture doesn’t care about me, but I know my neighbors do, so I would rather spend time with them!
Slowing down is good for our brains, our bodies, and our budgets. Let this be the year that you prioritize doing the things you want to do, and let everyone else choose what they do. We can’t force our consumer culture to slow down, but we can make a healthier choice, and a more sustainable choice, for ourselves and our families. And I don’t know about you, but my favorite summer memories as a kid weren’t about traveling sports or constant home maintenance. They were about playing in the sprinkler in the yard or having popsicles on a hot afternoon. That’s the kind of energy we deserve to reclaim in our lives. So slow down this year, and let’s make spring and summer less about what others might expect and more about what we want for ourselves.