My Confession from the MN State Fair (and why I'm OK with being a work in progress)

Confession: I haven't been invited by my family to go the MN State Fair in years. Yes, I went a couple of times when we first moved to Mpls but I soon decided that I would rather avoid the crowds, junk food and hours of walking around watching my kids spend too much money winning cheap stuffed animals that ultimately get thrown in the trash. Within an hour of arriving my thoughts would drift to all of the house work, laundry and other projects waiting for me at home, creating anxiety that would lead to a minor argument with my husband. Since the fair runs at the end of summer it's always a busy time getting the kids ready for school and I've prioritized this busy time over quality time spent with my family.

A few months ago I made the decision that I would attend the fair with my family, regardless of whether my house was in disarray, my kids' backpacks were ready for school or there was a stack of dirty laundry piled up. A few days before the fair started I made the announcement at dinner that I was going to join my husband and kids on their annual outing. The look of near disappointment on their faces and response that mom was not going to let them eat all of the junk food or play games almost brought tears to my eyes. They had already bought tickets and no surprise, had not included me in the count.

I have a hard time being fully present when I'm doing something that I don't want to do or something that isn't necessarily fun for me. I'm always going through my long to-do list and it's very hard for me to be excited and engaged with my kids who are having fun. I ruin the fun that they're having because of trivial tasks or work and am anxious to get back on with my schedule and even give my kids chores too.

This is an area of my life that I am working on and let me tell you it's not easy!!

I am happy to report that I did pretty well with staying present, not criticizing food choices (i.e. mini donuts, Sweet Martha's cookies, fries, corn dog, fried pickles, apple turnover, apple cider freezies, fried buckeyes) or how many games they played in hopes of winning another stuffed animal. We left the house at 9:30am and returned home close to 3pm and I didn't get anxious about my work and household to-do list in front of my family. I did take a few deep breaths when I felt the anxiety start to rise (love the power of our breath).

We all got lots of steps (10K+) and were outside for several hours on a lovely MN day soaking up sun and fresh air. I let my family show me their traditional path of seeing the various farm animals, birthing area, favorite food, mid-way games etc. This year they also checked-out the Agriculture and Horticulture building where we saw beautiful flowers, super sized veggies, learned about bees/honey and enjoyed a few apple treats for the first time.

I am learning about the idea of sympathetic joy (thanks to the fabulous yoga instructor @breatheandbe.yoga), which means we can find joy through others when we are having a harder time creating our own. What I learned from my outing to the MN state fair is that I did find my own joy in the process of celebrating my family and the fun they had on their annual outing.

What area of your life (outside of eating and exercise) are you working on? Are you a work in progress too? Or said differently are you allowing yourself to improve an area of your life to become someone better than who you are today?

Drop me a comment below or email me. Together we can help each other find joy and become someone better than who we are today.