The last few weeks have been really busy, both at home and at work. As a result, my stress level has sky-rocketed.

1. Our finances have become stretched so thin that things are starting to really hurt. Due dates are passing and I’m getting those awful notices that tell me I have to pay or we will be without. Ugh.

2. My time is stretched too thin. This means I have stopped working out every day. And as a direct result, my clothes are getting too tight. GRRRR

3. There are three teenagers in my living room all the time. This is hard for Mikey, as he is usually alone there after work and can enjoy his recorded shows and some down time. This is hard for me because this means they are home all day making messes. It is also hard because they seem to think that being home means they need to spend more money or do more things. Yeah, no.

4. My house, never a bastion of cleanliness, is now in a perpetual state of disaster. Seriously. I clean for one thing, and two hours later it is a mess again. I know, I know… make them clean it… but the battle involved in that process is more exhausting than either ignoring it or doing it myself. Mom Fail

5. My job is really good and I am very excited about new stuff I am doing there every day, but it is all very time-sensitive right now. So when I miss for various reasons, I have to try and find time to make it up. See #2

6. When life gets like this (this is certainly not the first time!) I tend to retreat. I want to shut down and just hibernate. I don’t go to church. I disappear off of social media. I don’t return calls or answer texts.  To all of you that I am letting down… I’m sorry. Really, I am sorry. I’m trying.

So there ya go… I hope you don’t see this as a big ol’ pity party. I just needed to write it all out for myself so I can start facing each of these demons.

In the meantime, I hope you all are having a good summer. I would love to hear from you about what you are doing, or if you are also struggling. I know I can’t be the only one! (Or if I am, then tell me that!!!)

Thanks for reading, dear friends.