Just do the next thing

 Confession: I get overwhelmed easily. I love a good to-do list as much as the next mom, but I tend to feel bummed when I can't get everything done. I'm a big picture kind of girl in that I often look ahead to what the next month and year will bring and what I need to do to get there, but I am also very detail oriented in that I like things done right. This is a recipe for disaster sometimes. 
Back in February I learned that I was having some health issues. I'll spare most of the embarrassing details, but what I learned from my doctor was that I was not absorbing nutrients. I was losing weight, my teeth were crumbling, and I had gout. GOUT! I'm way too young for that. 
Anyway, I learned that I needed to completely change my diet. I had to cut out what my body couldn't absorb and focus on whole, healing foods. I got a lot of flack for jumping on the "gluten-free hippie bandwagon," but when your dentist wants to charge you six grand to fix your mouth, you start to research more frugal options. I decided to ignore the nay-sayers and focus on what I could fix.
I had no idea where to begin. But now, months later, I'm doing better. It was completely overwhelming to replace all of the yummy foods I enjoy ( I love me some processed foods, I won't lie), so I had to just focus on one meal at a time. 

 Similarly, when my four year old feels overwhelmed about something (and because he's four, this happens often) I give him the same advice. One thing at a time. Pick up one toy at a time, and before you know it, your room will be clean (with some guided help from mom and dad, of course). When he doesn't want to eat his dinner, I change it to one bite at a time. I always joke with him. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And then he looks at me like I have three heads.
(No worries PETA, we would never eat an elephant, they are way too cute and wrinkly). 

These days, I am taking this advice to heart. I get overwhelmed easily with the future. Will we ever get this house fixed up enough to sell and move back to Orlando (my dream)? Will my health get back to a good place through my efforts or is it all down here from here? Will I ever be able to stop worrying about all of life's what ifs? I believe the answer to all of these questions is yes, just as long as I take things one tiny bite at a time. Just do the next thing. Don't focus too much on a vague future, because it'll probably be different than I imagine anyway. 

So today, my baby steps are to keep my kids fed and healthy, research healthy recipes I can make that ALL of us will like (and then actually make them, fingers crossed), fight the losing battle of keeping this house clean (I won't give up! Even if it is like brushing my teeth while eating ice cream) and hold and nurse a sweet little baby who is currently teething like it's his job. 
Here's to the next thing.