At 38 weeks, I don’t know a single woman on the planet who has said that she wished her pregnancy would go on just a few months longer. Believe me, I am not about to be the first. Yet, perhaps I need this extra time before my son arrives. There are lots of things that I need to freak out a little less about – like whether or not I should use the non-organic soaps and lotions I was given at my baby shower, or the chance that my family will put me on a Pitocin drip in my sleep!
Take my daughter for instance. Bean was extremely disappointed to find out that my blood pressure had stabilized at my last visit and so it wasn’t necessary to for me to have an induction. I tried to explain to her that it was a good thing and she said, “But Mom, as soon as they get Bubby out of you, you will get better.” Oh geez. So my precocious ten year-old would rather have my health decline because that means she can have earlier access to her little brother.
My husband has taken to scolding my belly and threatening to come in after the little guy if he doesn’t come out on his own soon. I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but I always get kicked shortly thereafter. I think my husband does it on purpose! Even my mother has been trying to schedule which day my son will arrive. I have been given a list of which days are acceptable to go into labor. Is your family supposed to drive you nuts toward the end of your pregnancy? I think I am highly proficient at driving myself nuts!
So, since little man is still in the Mommy Motel, and my family members are off their respective rockers, I have been focused on trying to keep things afloat while kind of being on bed rest and working on more ways to green up my home. When it all rolls together, it’s a little overwhelming. Then, it dawned on me. I have done what I do best – made things complicated and added more chaos to my life. This is the antithesis of going green. So this week, in light of the insanity in my home, I am taking a new approach to a green lifestyle:
Listen to the birds. I walk my daughter to the bus stop in the mornings and I realized late last week that the birds are finally chirping up a storm again. It’s so simple, but it does my soul so much good.
Shut off the electronics. How often do we complain that there just aren’t enough hours in the day and we mindlessly waste our time in front of the television or the computer running up our electric bills? Then we have the nerve to complain about our electric bills and wasting our resources! It is amazing how refreshing the quiet can be.
Breathe. When is the last time you took a deep breath of fresh spring air? I actually had to pause and consciously do just that today. The earthy scent of the ground returning to life is almost intoxicating. Drink it in.
So my mission for this next week is to spend more time appreciating nature instead of analyzing it to death. (Besides, once Bubby makes his big debut, I doubt I will have the time to appreciate anything more than a hot shower!) What about you? What types of things do you do to actually live a green lifestyle? Do you ever get carried away and forget why you wanted to change your lifestyle in the first place?
Written By: Heather Latham Cottrell
Image Credits:
http://www.mommymdguides.com/simple-solutions/simple-solutions-for-pregnancy
