When I was cleaning my bathroom this weekend I had to suppress ideas of creativity. I wanted to paint and rearrange instead of scrub and wash. Do you ever get like that? The urge to create something or do something while in the midst of
Something else?
I have to say, I’ve always been this way, but since I’ve been pregnant, my need for nesting and creativity has been in overdrive. It’s been like the children’s book, “If you give a mouse a cookie” by Laura Joffe Numeroff.…If you give a mouse a cookie he will want a glass of milk then something else and so on and so
Forth. That is me on a daily basis.
Even when I wrote this, I was laying in bed, supposed to be sleeping, but my brain is constantly awake with it’s engine revving. So much so that since I’m supposed to put my swollen feet up, I had to get myself a new hobby to do sitting down. I started to crochet to keep my fingers and hands busy when all I want to do is get up and move around to clean, organize and rearrange things. I could say it’s the need to do all the things before Baby girl comes, but I’d be lying if I said that were the only reason. This is me. Me constantly in hyperdrive. My brain and body always moving faster than it should. The only reason everyone noticed it more is that bc I’m pregnant, I’m constantly told to slow down.
As a child, I never thought I had hyperactivity. I did great in my classes and was able to study somewhat. I loved school. After my husband saw my childhood vhs tapes, he was like “you definitely had adhd” (coming from a school psychologist to a special education teacher). I never thought that to be a possibility. Sure I had suffered from anxiety and depression my whole life, but hyperactivity? OCD? I didn’t think I fit the description. I spoke to a new psychiatrist at length about all my tendencies and characteristics. I realized how much I needed movement and creativity like I needed air to breathe.
I watched those videos of little me. I thought about my future daughter and how i would react and raise her if I saw the same characteristics in her as I saw in that old film. How I would never stifle her creativity and promote her need for kinesthetic movement and play. When people tell me to relax and rest while pregnant. I know they’re all speaking from the heart, their experience and their concern, but what they don’t realize is that there needs to be a balance. A person who thrives on creativity and movement is not healthy sitting down in a static resting place. It does more harm to me and my unborn baby girl by causing anxiety and frustration than it does simply straightening up a counter.
Bottom line is that you…my friend, as well as I, need to listen to our bodies, not those side comments around us. Know what you need to stay healthy. Don’t ignore the voices that say take a break. Do your chores and tasks in moderation and learn to listen when your body says “its time to sit.”
Your inner child will thank you and help to support your adult body and soul.
xoxo- Jacqueline
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