It's May, and you know what that means. Every possible end of year school activity is happening, spring and summer sports are colliding, Mother's Day and Memorial Day take up half of your weekends. And don't forget about those upcoming graduations, and plans that you have to make for your kids so you can actually work this summer!

Life is incredibly noisy.

This year, May has been even busier than usual for me. There's a merger happening at work and I am on one of the teams that is heavily involved in the integration planning between our two organizations. It's exciting and scary all at the same time. But sometimes it's just too much.

There is so much noise in my head that it can be hard to think about what's really important, or hard to not be short with my boys when they don't do things exactly the way I want them to be done. My head hurts and I crave silence.

There have been a few days this month where I have just wanted to crawl in bed and sleep until it all goes away. When I feel that way, I have to force myself to take a few minutes and either have a good cry, or write out what I am feeling. And then put it all in perspective.

What is the purpose of all of this noise in our lives? Is it to help us prioritize those things that really matter? Or is it just the opposite - to keep us so busy that we don't have to think or feel deeply enough to relate to what's going on around us?

I think the key to keeping the noise to a dull roar is to do your best to evaluate the purpose of the things creating the noise in your life. Are they adding value and bringing joy? Or, are they just filler so your kids are occupied or because you feel obligated or worry about what others think?

The hardest part for me, especially when the boys were younger, was feeling like it was okay to say no. The pressure to be seen as a good mom and to have other parents at school not think poorly of me was intense. And it was even more intense after the divorce, when I felt like my kids behavior reflected that much more on me. I spent nine years heavily involved in the school PTO (and I loved it, don't get me wrong!), but it caused me a lot of stress and a ton of noise.

I'm not saying don't help out at your kids' schools; in fact, just the opposite. They need parents to help. But if all parents just gave a little bit of time, instead of some parents giving up all of their time, we'd all have just a little less noise and maybe a bit more sanity.

I guess the bottom line is that life is noisy and we need to accept that. There's good noise and there's bad noise, and we all need to do our best to filter out the bad and listen to the good. Choose your activities wisely and say no just a little bit more often. Enjoy that birthday party even when you have a million thoughts about work in your head, or give that extra hug at Mother's Day brunch, even when you know your laundry and bills are piled up at home.

Some days, you may need to drown out the noise entirely to re-center yourself. Find a good friend to talk to, have a nice glass of wine and watch the sunset, or go for a long run - whatever your outlet is.

Try not to let the noise of your life define you, and listen carefully to the meaning behind it so you can learn from it. What does your noise tell you about your life?

You might be surprised by what you hear.