This past weekend, while our kids were at their other parents' homes, I spent most of Saturday cleaning. I vacuumed floors, scrubbed bathrooms, did a zillion loads of laundry and tried to snuff out dust bunnies that were lurking around every corner.

This is a fairly common occurrence for me on the weekends. I don't know about you, but as a doer and achiever, I often find myself taking on a lot at home in addition to my other responsibilities. I tend to forget there are only 24 hours in the day, and I take pride in taking care of things myself.

So Saturday and Sunday usually pass in a whirlwind of household chores, and I’m left feeling like I don’t know where the time went. Sometimes this leaves me feeling disappointed that I didn't prioritize the opportunity to spend time with family or friends, or just relax. I've even been known to frustratingly utter the words, "Why do I have to do everything?" even though my husband and kids offer help on a regular basis.

But for some reason, this particular weekend was different.

As I scrubbed my house, I remembered a conversation I had with a friend about taking on too much. As we talked, I told her about the stress I was feeling at the time. I mentioned that maybe I needed to take up yoga or meditate more to help myself.

All were good ideas, but with a sweet chuckle, she offered some sage advice. Maybe, instead of putting more pressure on myself, I could let something go. In that moment, it was like she was giving me permission to take something off my plate, and a light bulb clicked on for me. 

While I am content to clean and pick things up — especially last weekend with the windows open and my playlist blasting music — I need to learn to give myself permission to let something go. Instead of my cranky and untrue mantra of “ Why do I have to do everything?” I need to start to think differently. I need to ask myself, "What could I do if I stopped trying to do everything?"

Maybe instead of meeting Sunday night with a pang of regret, I could prioritize spending more quality time with my family, make plans to see my friends or even squeeze in a quick game of tennis. By choosing to take something off my plate, I would be opening up time to do more of what I love, and enter a new week refreshed and energized.

As parents, we shoulder a lot. This mantra of "doing it all" is not only unrealistic, but it’s not particularly healthy. We can't do everything. So I invite you to ask yourself, "What can I let go of?" Give yourself permission to find something to take off your plate.

For some, it might be having the neighbor kid mow the yard once a month. Maybe you're out of ideas for dinner by the end of the week and Sunday is declared "cereal day." For me, it means finding someone to help clean once a month.

Whatever it is for you, just like my friend did for me, I invite you to let something go.