May Will Keep May-ing
May. This is such a sneaky month.
April showers bring May flowers is such a quaint little saying. A little rain, then a month of gorgeous flowers, right?
And then May arrives, bringing state tennis and track, end-of-the-year projects where everything seems due at once, school finals, graduation preparation, college visits, weddings.
And it’s not just the calendar filling, it’s also the tension on the heart. Especially when a child hits a milestone. Leaving kindergarten. Leaving middle school. Leaving high school. Launching into adulthood.
Every milestone asks something of us. I want you to slow down as you read this because it’s important. When your child walks across any stage at any age, shakes all the hands and receives the diploma, a part of you is up there, too. You have built into that child. Year after year after year.
You are proud. Joyous. And if you are anything like me, there is also this strangely hollow feeling in the region somewhere between the heart and the soul, in that invisible place where we must learn to let go.
So if you are feeling an exhaustion that you don’t recognize, invite it in for some tea. Let it sit down at the table of your life.
Know that you have done a good job. Make peace with the mistakes made. You have given, loved, poured out.
As our children push away from us, becoming their own adults, living their own lives, be at rest.
Only in God is my soul at rest. Only in God. Only in God. Only in God.
Big things have been happening.
And in seasons like this, women often keep pouring outward while quietly forgetting themselves.
But your body notices (ever read the book The Body Keeps Score?).
So if you have found yourself eating mindlessly while standing at the kitchen counter, replacing water with high octane caffeinated drinks, and drifting in the food department, take a moment to get reoriented.
Come back to what works. Choose meals that feel deeply nourishing: high-quality protein, simple ingredients, foods that steady energy and support hormones.
My go-to favorite? Chicken Fajitas.
I also recently discovered recipes from Downshiftology and made her chipotle chicken. I had leftover pepper sauce and decided to try her barbacoa with chuck roast in my Dutch oven for four hours.
Oh my.
We could not believe how flavorful it was.
BTW: I love fabulous food that makes me feel fabulous.
Eating healthy is not about perfection. It’s about living an integrated life, where we, who take care of everyone else, are also taken care of. (can I get an amen?)
Okay, I cannot leave without giving you one last meal suggestion. My son Thomas (who is an apprentice electrical lineman in Gardner, Kansas) came home to visit a couple weeks ago and I made these salmon bites. Because I love me some Thomas, I added in the extra sauce and pickled cucumber.
People. I have never tasted anything so good.
Ever.
It was pure joy to eat that meal.
I cannot wait to make it again. It made me happy to be alive. Seriously.
So as you go about your busy life, pouring yourself out, know that healthy living is about integration.
Learn how to nourish the woman who has spent her entire life nourishing everyone else.
As you know, May will keep May-ing.
Our babies will keep growing. Milestones will keep happening.
Through it all, know that He sees you. Be at rest in Him.
And drink your water.
Choose high quality protein.
Add the extra sauce.
Sit down while you eat.
Your life is full.
Nourish well.
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