My nephews. Now they are 18, 19, 21 and 22 years old.
I babysat my four nephews for two summers in a row. They were just little guys back then. Maybe ages 6, 7, 9 and 10 years old? Now one of them is too tall to stand in our basement!
There were two things Aunt Julie wouldn't let them say when we were together.
"That's so gay!" (For obvious reasons! Who ever thought that was a good expression?!)
And...
"I'm bored." (You have got to be kidding me!)
You're bored? I would think to myself. You are here with your aunt and your cousins and you have a million toys and a great backyard and...I already took you on numerous fun outings this week. Do not even say you are bored!!!!
But, here I am...and I'm going to say it.
I'M BORED.
That's right. I said it.
I couldn't count the number of times I sighed yesterday.
I woke up at around 7am and couldn't get back to sleep. I came downstairs, made some Peach Oatmeal and a cup of coffee, grabbed my book and spent some time with God. 'sigh' Turned on the Today Show at around 8am--flipped through channels numerous time. 'sigh' Picked up my book again. Couldn't focus. Watched more TV. Couldn't focus.
Then, once everyone was awake, I was immediately biting off their heads. I definitely put on my grumpy pants. (Which, might I add, were much looser than a week ago! Ha ha!)
Last night, once the kids were in bed, I finally said the words out loud.
"I'm bored."
There was no response.
This morning, I woke up and found myself immediately sighing again. I was putting on my make-up and getting ready for the day when I said the words out loud again.
"I'm bored."
This time Dan responded. "It's tough to realize how much of our entertainment has been derived from food, huh?"
I hadn't thought about that. He was right. I didn't realize that I was grouchy because I wanted to eat. I didn't realize that I was hungry because I was bored and wanted something to do. No, not just SOMETHING to do--I wanted to eat. I wanted to go to a restaurant and order a five course meal and sit and linger over it with a glass of wine. I wanted to come home and sit up for another five hours exploring the kitchen cupboards. Wait...NO. I didn't really WANT that. I didn't even realize that was why I was upset. I just realized there was a void. And the void was food. And...I was bored.
But you have to be kidding! I am here with my husband and my children. We are surrounded by toys and places to go and things to see and kittens to love and friends and family and a church and...
It's not so much boredom as it is discontentment. I don't want those things. I want something to entertain me and be easy and be mindless and be pleasurable.
It's time to redefine all of those things. Food is not entertainment. Food is not ease. Food is fuel. And it can be pleasurable. But it is not my satisfaction and it does not bring comfort. I have been deceived by my Food Idolatry for a long time. I have to find a new way to live.
FOOD has stole my fun for a very long time. Now, I need to rediscover what fun really is. And be content along the way.
Let the challenge begin!
Ha ha ha! Lisa Turkeurst, author of the book "Made to Crave" just posted this on Facebook:
ReplyDeleteDear kids... If you come to me to say you're bored, it translates in my brain that you need chores to do. FYI.
Girl,
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you here. I have been analyzing my food consumption and how often it is related to boredom. It really is the "cheater's way" to fill time. It takes no creativity for me to grab a snack. But to think up purposeful activity for myself and my kids and then follow through with it...that takes strength and creativity! If I really poured myself into every thing that's already on my "needs done" list and then ate to live rather than lived to eat, things would start turning upside down. I'm going to consider my discontent and how to break my patterns with other-focused activity rather than "me-istic" fooding. Love you sister.
Shoot. You're married to a wise man.
ReplyDeleteMight be time to make up your list of non-food rewards, things you can do that make you happy. You can use this when you need a reward because you've done something wonderful, or for times when you need a stress buster. Most of us use food for both of those things.
Take some time to think about what you can do that would feel good to you but wouldn't involve eating. A ten minute walk can do it for me. (Yes, this is a revolutionary change from my previous life!) A manicure touch-up will be my reward of choice today. Maybe it's allowing yourself to nestle into a good book for 20 minutes, regardless of whether you think you have the time to do it or not. I dunno what will be your happy things, but having a written down list of those things can be REALLY useful for days when you are bored, or cranky, need a good way to celebrate a little success.
Today I get the home manicure as a reward for going to work today when I really wanted to be completely lazy. :)