For Such a Time as This

I'll be honest. The world feels really heavy right now. And I don't mean that in a vague, general way. I mean it in a I already struggle to turn my brain off at night and now this kind of way.

I am a hypervigilant person by nature. Ask anyone who knows me. So what do you do when the thing you've always been braced for starts to actually feel real?

I don't have a clean answer for that. I really don't.

What I do know is that lately the only thing that has cut through the noise is getting on the floor with my kids. Not having a plan. Not running an errand or checking something off a list. Just... being there. Letting them be loud and weird and little. Because they are only this age once, and I refuse to let the state of the world steal that from me or from them.

I have never wanted to protect my kids the way I do right now. And if I'm being real, that feeling (left unchecked) will paralyze you. I know because it has paralyzed me. The only thing that has helped me get out of my own head is choosing to believe that there is a plan bigger than what I can see. That this is not all on me to fix. That I can do my part and then let go of the rest. Some days I'm better at that than others. But the intention matters.

So what do we actually do right now?

Play with your kids. I mean it. Not structured play, not goal-oriented play. Just play. Be silly. Be present. Let them lead you somewhere unexpected. You don't need a plan. You just need to show up.

Because here is what I know for sure. Your child is not going to remember the news cycle. They are going to remember that you got on the floor with them. That you laughed. That you were safe.

Be that for them. Even on the hard days. Especially on the hard days.