Constant Stress and Losing Patience: How We Found Our Way Back to Calm, Joy, and Connection
The Problem
There was a night not too long ago when everything just… snapped.
Dinner was half-burned, the laundry was still piled high, emails were still unanswered, and our son.
Our sweet, curious, wide-eyed boy was asking for help building something out of blocks.
And I didn’t respond with the gentle patience I wanted to.
Instead, I sighed.
Loudly.
I said, “Not right now, buddy.”
He looked down. And the guilt hit hard.
That was my moment.
The one where I realized how constant stress had quietly taken over our home.
Realizing it was a Problem
We were rushing through life.
Always busy, always behind, always trying to be everything for everyone, but in the process, we were losing ourselves and the kind of parent we wanted to be.
That night became our lightbulb moment.
We didn’t want our son to remember us as constantly stressed, tired, and short-tempered.
We wanted him to remember laughter, adventures, learning, and connection.
That’s when we decided things needed to change.
How Today Not Tomorrow helped us with our problem
So, we built Today Not Tomorrow, and from it, six small but powerful brands, each designed to rebuild what stress had taken away: joy, balance, and belonging.
Your Yes Day — Saying Yes to Yourself Again
Stress often comes from always saying “yes” to everything except yourself.
We realized that the exhaustion wasn’t just physical.
It was emotional and spiritual, too.
Your Yes Day became our reminder that we’re allowed to say yes to ourselves.
Yes to rest.
Yes to moving our bodies in ways that feel good.
Yes to eating better, breathing deeper, and finding a few minutes of stillness even in chaos.
Wellness isn’t selfish.
It’s the fuel that allows us to show up with patience and love.
When we said “yes” to our own wellness, physical, mental, and spiritual—we found that the stress didn’t disappear, but it stopped controlling us.
Squish Gardens — Growing Calm One Seed at a Time
When life feels too loud, the garden has a way of whispering peace back into it.
There’s something healing about digging your hands into the earth, watching something you planted grow, and breathing fresh air that doesn’t come from a screen.
Squish Gardens taught us to slow down. To grow herbs with our son, to talk about the miracle of life in tiny seeds, to compost together and see that even what seems like waste can bring new growth.
Nature reminds us that things take time.
And when you’re growing something, you can’t rush it.
You just nurture it daily, and trust the process.
That same patience slowly began returning to our hearts.
Squish Skills — Little Hands, Big Helpers
Part of our stress came from trying to do everything ourselves.
It wasn’t that our son didn’t want to help.
It was that we were in too much of a hurry to let him.
That’s when Squish Skills came alive.
It’s all about teaching life skills, no matter your age, and realizing that it’s never too late to learn.
We started giving our son small tasks cracking eggs, folding napkins, even simple DIY repairs.
And something incredible happened: he felt proud, and we felt less overwhelmed.
Teaching him to help not only gave him confidence.
It gave us patience.
We realized that slowing down to teach was more important than speeding up to finish.
Squish Travels — Escaping the Noise, Reconnecting on the Road
Sometimes, the best way to break free from constant stress is to step outside your routine.
That’s what Squish Travels is all about using travel, big or small, as a way to reconnect.
We didn’t need a plane ticket to find peace; even a weekend road trip or a day exploring a nearby town became a chance to breathe again.
When we travel, we’re reminded that the world is bigger than our to-do lists.
We talk, laugh, get lost, and remember that life’s best moments often happen off-schedule.
Squish Games — Rediscovering Play and Joy
One night, we decided to skip chores and just play a board game instead.
It was simple, but it changed the energy in our house.
Squish Games grew from that idea: that play is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.
Playing together helps us laugh again.
It turns stressful moments into silly ones, replaces impatience with connection, and reminds us that joy doesn’t have to be earned.
It can be chosen.
Our patience grows when we play, because we remember that our child isn’t trying to test us—he’s trying to connect with us.
Better Together — Rebuilding Connection One Meal, One Moment at a Time
At the core of everything we do is this: we’re better together.
Better Together was born out of the desire to rebuild our table, not just as a place to eat, but as a place to belong.
We started making mealtime less about perfect meals and more about conversation, laughter, and being present.
We turned screens off.
We asked real questions.
We gave each other grace.
And slowly, we found that connection was the key to calming the chaos.
When we feel connected, we’re more patient with ourselves, with our kids, and with each other.
A Message to You
If you’ve been feeling like the stress never ends, or like your patience is stretched to its limit.
Please know this: you are not alone.
We’ve been there.
We still have those days.
But we also know that it’s possible to find your way back to joy, to calm, to connection.
You don’t have to overhaul your life overnight.
Just take one small step today.
Say “yes” to yourself.
Step outside.
Learn something new.
Plan a day trip.
Play a game.
Sit at the table and really look into your child’s eyes.
Those tiny choices add up to big change.
We’re not perfect, but these are the things that helped us heal, and we hope they can help you, too.
Because this journey isn’t about perfection.
It’s about presence.
And you deserve to feel better—today, not tomorrow. ❤️
The Browns
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