Rut

I've been struggling the last few months with the feeling that I'm in a personal rut. I have grown emensely in the last year from the wonderful experience of motherhood, but I have let many other facets of myself slide. I've set a few goals recently that have helped some.

I instituted a "no napping" plan for myself. I always feel tired from not getting adequate sleep on the weekends due to my night shifts at the hospital. For a long time I would try to sleep in the morning while Madeline took her morning nap. Consequently, our day wouldn't really get started until about 11:30 in the morning. I also found that I was just being lazy early in the morning so that I wouldn't be too energized to take my nap. That left me with a lot of things that just weren't getting done. I feel so much better now that I'm not sleeping during the day. I don't think I feel any more tired than I did before, and my days are so much more productive.

I started making a "to do" list each day. I've never been a list-making person, but I found it pretty helpful for a while. I haven't stuck to it very well, though.

I've made an increased effort to set time aside in my day for personal spiritual study. I love the peace and renewal I feel when I draw closer to the Lord and learn more about His gospel.

I've been trying to exercise most mornings. This has definitely increased my energy level and has helped my body slowly return to it's pre-pregnancy state (although I don't think that's ever really possible).

Those steps have all been very helpful to me, but I still feel like I could do more to better myself.

We bought an electric piano for Christmas last year. I have barely touched it because the only music I have had to play from is the hymnal. I finally bought some piano music last week. I sat down and played for a couple of hours on Monday night and LOVED it. It used to be a great emotional outlet for me. I don't know why I let myself not play for so long. My skills are definitely more than rusty, but playing truly brought peace to my soul. I don't feel like I have many talents or hobbies, but I guess this is one of them, and I need to use it.