Aren’t vacations fabulous? You get to forget about all the worry pebbles you have rolling around back home. For a short spell you are free from the entanglements of real life. This is my absolute favorite part of any vacation; the disconnection.

I just got back from an amazing 2-week vacation.  Just as Monday barged in like a freight train on a quiet morning, so my worry pebbles came rolling back in.  Clink, clink, clink.

I had three worry pebbles of varying sizes that I was incubating. I know when I start to ‘play ostrich’, that my problems have reach worry pebble status. I tell you what mamas, at this point in life, the ostrich just needs to be my favorite animal. It is the animal I emulate the most! It has even become one of my numerous nicknames bestowed upon me by my hubby.

I let the Monday freight train shake, rattle and roll through without confronting my worry pebbles.  Clink, clink. Clink.

Tuesday, Wednesday passed too; clink clink clink.

I started each weekday morning knowing that I needed to send that email, make that call, but I just could not bring myself to do it.  Instead, I burrowed my head further into the sand. I tried to reassure myself one of these days, this ostrich strategy of mine is going to pay off!!

Finally on Thursday, my ostrich needed to come up for air. I sent emails on two of my three biggest worry pebbles. Within hours I had responses; like good positive outcomes.  Then I wondered what I always wonder: “Hey, Why didn’t you do this sooner OSTRICH?”  Clink clink.

With momentum of good news, I was even more aware that my last and largest worry pebble was still rolling around; like a bull in a china shop. CLINK! This last pebble had quadrupled from its original size and became more obnoxious and anxiety inducing with each passing week.  I feared this pebble would never pulverize, that I would be chained to it indefinitely…  And then a phone call on Friday changed everything. 

This was the news I had been waiting for the last 10 months. Was this pebble really gone? Would it come back? The pebble that I thought would soon grow so large it would pin me down, and suffocate me, with this one single phone call, was now pulverized. “Clink”.  

Relief blasted across my entire body. I could feel every cell regenerate in celebration.

Speaking of celebrations, Mamas, I just recently had a birthday. With each passing year, I become older and wiser. My revelation this birthday is how tired I am of playing this worry game. This year I want to stop dedicating any headspace to categorizing and storing all these worry pebbles.  I want to put my ostrich out to pasture and allow it to roam free and BREATHE. 

I am not entirely sure how I will accomplish this goal mamas, but I am going to try nonetheless. I know that I can’t change what I don’t acknowledge. Lots of smart people have said this throughout history.

What about you mamas? What pebbles do you need to pulverize? We need to acknowledge our worry pebbles, and then take action. Don’t play ostrich, trust me that strategy never works!

Clink clink clink.