<a href="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/viewer.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-4519 alignleft" alt="viewer" src="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/viewer-300x300.jpeg" width="300" height="300" /></a>When I called my very good friend the other day to wish her a happy birthday, I felt like an awful person because I've been absolutely terrible about staying in touch. After wishing her the happiest of days I started to apologize for being such a horrible friend and dropping the ball, etc... when she interrupted me.

"Just tell me one thing," she asked, "how do you do it all?"

How do<em> I</em> do it all?

ME?

"You have three kids and a husband who travels and a job and you volunteer at both schools and I don't know how you do it..."

I, um, eh...

I confessed that I don't do it all, and then tried to, in the five minutes we had before my friend had to get off the phone, explain in as non-rambly and succinctly a way as possible that we can't do it all and that we need to give each other a break and what's important in life, and all this stuff in the house, let's get rid of it, and, "OK, you've got the get off the phone? I get it love you, bye!"

My point, inelegant as it was, was that we're all stressing out because there's just too much to do. And most of the pressure comes from within. And we have to give ourselves a break.

I just wish that I could have explained it better to my friend. But you know, life.

A few days after that, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937134342/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1937134342&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=mothisblisort-20">MINIMALIST PARENTING: Enjoy Modern Family Life More by Doing Less</a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=mothisblisort-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=1937134342" width="1" height="1" border="0" />, arrived on my doorstep. It was written by two other friends of mine, <a href="http://www.bostonmamas.com/">Christine Koh</a> and <a href="http://www.parenthacks.com/">Asha Dornfest</a>.

(I realize that there are a lot of friends on this post, but what can I say? I get by with a little help from them.)

Here's the thing about Asha and Christine and their book. These women? They know of what they speak.