Today, for the first time in a long time, I said no to a work project. See, last year was difficult for our family, with my husband being out of work for some months. I had to assume the role of breadwinner while still functioning as mommy, wife, and woman. I know a lot of you know how that feels. I knew that I wasnβt completely alone, though, and that my husband was always around, ready to help. But that didnβt stop me from feeling the pressure that came with bills, tuition and car payments and other expenses that came knocking on my door each month.
I accepted every work opportunity that came my way, and turned over a lot of my home responsibilities to my husband. For a while, the pressure caused me to forget how it was to live. It made me lose sight of what I had set as my purpose a couple of years ago when I chose to work from home β to focus on my family. The stress that I was putting on myself made me cranky and moody. It also caused me to doubt my abilities and question if what I was doing was right. Worst of all, it nearly made me lose faith that things would work out.
Life was, basically, not nice, and it took a lot for optimistic me to see the sweet side of every day. But, as life teaches us, there is always a rainbow after the rain, and the sun always rises after a long dark night. And today, as I said no to that project, I felt the sun shine down on me, and saw that beautiful colorful rainbow. Iβm glad that I am now out of that funk.
This post may just be simple, short and sweet, but it goes out to each one of you. I want to remind you today to love yourself, and that means making time for yourself amidst all the chaos that you might be facing. I want for each of you to stop and cherish the moment you are in right now, to hug your husband and inhale his scent, to play with your child and take in all the giggles.
We all have our long days, long weeks, in my case, one long year, and all it takes is a few seconds in the middle of all that to stop and remember what you really are living for. Remember your purpose, and live it out. And before you know it, youβll begin to feel the warm sun shine down on you, too.
How easy or difficult is it for you to say ‘No’ to something?
This is an original post by our contributor Mrs. P. Cuyugan from Philippines. Photo credit to the author.
Sweet post.. I agree, we do need to stop and remember ourselves and our loved ones.
This is because one day you’ll realise you had no memories to cherish.
Have a blessed day
Exactly! We tend to forget to cherish moments sometimes when life moves at the speed of light for us mommies. π
Hope you have an amazing day, too!
Sometimes we get too caught up with the pressure to financially provide for our families. Thanks for the reminder to pause and see the sweet side of everyday : )
Yes! Thank you so much for visiting, my friend!
So simple yet so VERY true!!
Thank you, Sarah! π I hope you have a stellar day.
So very true! Thanks for the reminder (and please – keep on reminding me, since I am one of those ppl that find it hard to say no!)
Haha! Let’s remind each other. It does take a lot for me to say no also. π
Blessings Mrs P! I love this. Im in the transition of being a SAHM to being a WAHM and I haven’t started yet but feels so stressed already. Job hunting season…. Thank you for this sweet and simple reminder.
You can do this, Camille! Hugs!
Thanks for the reminder especially that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. I used to be a yes person, even at the expense of my happiness. But I’ve wisen up and learnt that it’s not mean when I have to just say no at times.
Good for you, Susan! Congratulations on learning how to say no. It really is tough, but it totally pays off.
Hi, Mrs. P! I’m one of those who finds it difficult to say ‘No’ to something and that is because I don’t want to disappoint people. Thank you for the reminder. Sometimes I get so busy with my full time work, blogging and running the household that I forget to cherish precious moments with my husband and daughter but seeing how fast my daughter has grown (she’s turning 2 this year) has been my constant reminder to pause, take a break and just enjoy everything that is happening in my life right now. π
I remember missing out on a lot of milestones from when my son was that age because I was working a really demanding, full-time job. If only I could turn back time! Those are precious moments, and I really do hope you get to cherish them with your family. π
Thank you for reminding us to focus on what is really important, because time marches on regardless of whether we take the time to “smell the roses” or not!
Hi, Simona! You are so right, time does march on, whether we like it or not. So really, each moment IS important.
I’ve been learning to say “no” lately and you know that. Haha! There’s really a reason for everything and I’m sure that one of the reasons you went through all that is so that you can learn valuable lessons in life. And you’re now sharing them with others. π
This is so true! And I love that I have the opportunity to tell my story. I only hope to inspire others to really learn to live their best lives, too. I know I’m still a work in progress, but getting better every day. Here’s to our Zen! π
You are soooo right. We’ve seen ourselves down in the dumps financially that I had to take on jobs and help out till I could no longer breathe.
That was beautiful. Indeed, we need to learn to stop, to breathe, to hug our families and take time to appreciate them, to remember our purpose. π I think this is my favorite among your blogs that I’ve read so far.
Aww thank you, May! Something about being able to write for WMB really inspires me to pour my heart out on this blog. π So happy you stopped by!
Oh it’s very difficult for me! That’s one of the reasons why I stopped VA work since end of last year. I was getting too stressed with all the project I’m handling because I just couldn’t say know!
Hugs, Roxi! I know you’ll find that balance soon enough, even if it comes at the expense of giving up certain things. Letting go of that VA job is already a good start for detoxifying your life. π
Right on, Mrs. C.! Needed this post!!
Jen π
You know what, Jen, so did I! And now life is sunshiney again. π This is why I love WMB!
Wonderful post! I have been having a really rough week with a bad cold and trying to prep for a trip. When I am at my grumpiest, I just want to be left alone. But it’s in those moments I try to stop and hug my husband…kiss my children…because they are what really matters. Good for you on saying “no” and taking care of you!
I hope you’re feeling and doing better now, Tara! π I think that we should never underestimate the power of hugs and kisses from our spouses and kids. Those hold a special kind of magic, and oftentimes can make us feel better in an instant!
This is such a sweet poat and I agree. It is so easy to get caught up with everything and it is so easy to see all the ings that we should be worried about that we forget to stop, breathe, and love. Great post!
Thank you, Jaja! I hope you’re having a wonderful day!
It’s really difficult to say no to something but it’s good that you finally did it. Thanks for the reminder that we do have to say no sometimes.
Awww! Now I am guilty for having a bad behavior to my husband last week. Will surely gonna hug and kiss him later when he comes back from a client meeting!
I can totally relate with you. There are many times when I have these so many things on my head that I wanted to do which make me happy personally but then there will be some kind of a whispering thought that, hey, pause for a while, remember why you are at home with your husband and kids, learn to balance, and then everything will feel much lighter. God whispers to me all the time when I tend to lose balance because I always pray that to him, to keep me focused on things that matter most.
I really don’t want to miss out the main thing — relationships. Family, friends, leisure activities. I don’t think we were born just to work. We were made to live and taste and see the world π
This article made me cry.
I love the last paragraph.. We always have to remember our purpose in live. For me, is to be happy and make our love ones happy π