When There Just Isn’t Enough Time

Some days feel like a race I never signed up for.

The kind where the alarm goes off too early, the coffee goes cold too fast, and the to-do list multiplies like laundry during deployment. I look at the clock and think, How is it already noon? Then I blink again, and it’s bedtime. I didn’t call my mom, respond to that email, or remember to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer (again).

This is the life, right? The one we chose, or were swept into, or are doing our best to navigate. Military life doesn’t slow down for anyone. It’s a steady hum of “next.” Next orders, next schedule change, next school form, next attempt at work-life balance. And somewhere in all that “next,” we’re supposed to carve out time to be present, patient, and pulled together.

But here’s my truth. There are days when I feel like I’m failing at all of it. Not because I’m not trying. But because there just isn’t enough time.

The Myth of “Doing It All”

Lately, I’ve been caught in the loop of juggling everything. The overgrown yard that makes me cringe every time I pull into the driveway. The playdates I keep meaning to schedule. The half-written thank-you notes. The doctor appointments I reschedule more than I keep.

Let’s not forget the basics. Housework, dishes, groceries, the kid’s forgotten school spirit day outfit. Then add in the phone calls I need to return. The professional development course I was so excited to start but haven’t opened in three weeks. The volunteer role I said yes to because I really do care.

Oh, and self-care? That elusive thing everyone tells you to prioritize? Still waiting for it to show up on my calendar between the dentist appointment I forgot to book and the laundry mountain I now call “Mount Foldmore.”

Somewhere in there are hobbies I miss. Dreams I put on pause. Conversations I meant to have.

It’s not that I’m doing nothing. It’s that I’m doing everything except the things I want to do.

What Needs to Be Done vs. What We Want to Do

If you asked me to list out everything I’d like to do in a week, I could give you a beautiful, color-coded plan. But reality isn’t color-coded. It’s messy. So I find myself asking, what absolutely has to get done today? What can wait? What can be dropped completely?

The hard part is figuring out how far you let things slide before you feel like you’re losing control. There’s always a line. Sometimes it’s blurry. Sometimes we don’t even realize we crossed it until we’re crying over forgotten permission slips or cold coffee for the third time in a row.

Can we let things slide? Sure. We have to.
But how far before it feels like too much?
Or not enough?

That’s the tightrope walk.

Permission to Pause

I think it comes down to this. There are only so many hours in the day. And while I’d love a few extra, I also know that more time wouldn’t solve everything unless I learned how to protect it.

That means letting go of the guilt when something doesn’t get done. Being honest about what actually matters right now. Giving myself permission to not show up for everything and everyone if it means I can show up for myself and my family with a little more peace and a lot less pressure.

Time is tricky. It slips away, but it also gives. Quiet hugs. Small wins. Unexpected joy. I may never be caught up, but I’m starting to believe that “caught up” isn’t the goal. Being in it, however imperfectly, is enough.

To the One Who’s Tired…

You’re not alone. If your day ended before your list did, if your patience wore thin, if you’re lying in bed tonight thinking of all the things you didn’t do, take a breath.

You did something.
You showed up.
You cared.
You tried.

And that? That counts.