Do you need to do it all?

So are you ready?  Are you ready to say goodbye to all that happened in 2014 and move on to an all new you in 2015?  Don't we wish?!
 It never really happens like that.  We sometimes imagine ourselves as this amazing crafter with delicious food and intelligent and polite children.  Think about it.  Don't you sometimes put these pressures on yourself and try to do it all? 
Martha Stewart and the like have been my role models in years past, but then I heard about what kind of marriage she had and how stressed her relationship was with her daughter.  After obsessing about eating clean, teaching kids everything I can before kindergarten, trying to be green and self-sufficient, and whatever trend seemed relative to our lifestyle; I came to a realization.  Stop.
This isn't something new, but I think it needs to be said out loud.  It's okay to do the minimum, as long as you are trying to take care of you and the family around you.  This is not a license to abuse others around you and be a slacker. 
There are just so many pressures on moms to be everything to everyone and it just ends badly, really badly.  There is an epidemic number of alcoholic moms, moms on depressants, and shattered marriages.  There is nothing good that comes from having it all! 
Will you sit in your rocker one day and tell your great-grandchildren about all the cool things you decoupaged or about the Christmas that all the kids were so sick you almost didn't have Christmas?  Does all the cute and crafty stuff matter in the end?  Maybe if you are earning a living from it, but it's who you are earning for and what is being done with it that matter. 
There is nothing wrong with being a Crafty Cathy.  Busyness is the root of the problem.   I can't wait to get out my paints and markers some days, but it comes when I can devote time to my crafting (and God) that doesn't come at a cost to anyone else or anything else. 
 I am not a fan of some of the language in the book, but Life's Too Short To Fold Fitted Sheets, by Lisa Quinn, is a swift kick in the pants.  Lisa is an Emmy award-winning TV host, author, and mom who has been in many publications and appeared on HGTV and Oprah.  She knows about busyness.  She brings to light just how important the little things are to our kids, but not so much to all the outsiders looking in at your shabby chic refurbished thrift store finds.
There are a few things I would like to work on in 2015.  The biggest being the busyness I can't seem to get away from.  I have a stockpile of recipes that my family can happily eat for months.  Three out of the four kids are in school.  And we finally live in a home that accomodates six people.  This should be a time of life that I should be able to let the craziness of trying new recipes and growing herbs from my windows go.  My focus now is my family and my God.  What do you need to let go of from the past and what do you need to hug tightly in the present?  Happy New You!