On reclaimed Weekends
It seems that about every 6 months I pass by my calendar in the dining room- look at the mess of appointments, playdates, church obligations, BBQ's, small group nights, volunteer stuff- and then, in a frenzy of rebellion, I cross out about half of what's on there, cancel appointments, drop off comittee's, refuse to attend one more BBQ no matter how fun it might be. My friends have most certainly been the victim's of these schedule clearing shinanigans and while I hate to disappoint people, I also have to go " STOP!!! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!" Which is where I find myself today.
And without fail, liberating my schedule always leaves me feeling FREE and able to breathe. I have a friend who shall remain nameless, and she's the worlds-best-multitasker. She cooks for potlucks, plays in the worship team, has a bazillion friends that she makes time for regularly, works part time, has two kids and one on the way...and she's still nice!! Give me 1/2 of that schedule and I'd be climbing the walls or running naked through the woods. So, I ask you, HOW does she do it?? If you're out there C., I'll just ask you- HOW DO YOU DO IT!?
Here's a brief recap of our life since March:
T-ball Tues and Thurs with games on Fri and sometimes Sat, gymnastics on Mondays, ladies bible study on Monday nights, small group with some friends on Wednesday nights, church on Sunday during which Ryan does sound, back to church Sunday night to help with sound and set up for the dinner they did for those who came for the Sunday night service, Ryan's truck's clutch goes out...two days later the tranny is discovered to be 'siezed up' and needs replacing also, too expensive, scrap the truck, borrow the Honda from Father in Law, air conditioning goes out, temps climp to the high 90's (of course they do), school's getting out, 2 parent's nights which Ryan and I split up for because they're also t-ball nights, gymnastics performance night, engine on my new-to-me Subaru goes out and needs to be replaced, put new engine in, IT goes out...ahem, right...put NEW new engine in car, all of this resulting in 3 weeks with only one pimpy Honda to drive the family around in...I score a landscaping job, do another pro bono for a pal and get another one from those two, Subaru goes back to the shop, I do a 4th landscaping job free of charge (it was for my mother)- all of this while; planning a trip to Mexico for August 1st, caring for 9 Scottish Terrier pups, cleaning up after a city sewer main breaks outside our house and floods our basement with poo, dealing with a refrigerator and washing machine which go out within a week of one another.....the list goes on. Seriously, it does.
All of this to say, I WANT MY WEEKENDS BACK. Starting Saturday. You're all my witnesses. I vow to pack a picnic and head to the zoo with my family. I will stroll, not run, through the exhibits and make time to stop and see the primates AND the bears. I will eat lunch on the grass with my husband of 9 years and watch the kids play unhurried. I will. I will. I will.
I will not forego the zoo trip to 'squeeze in' a coffee date with friends, a quick shopping trip or a bit of work on someones yard. I will not look at C.'s life and wonder why I don't have her energy and spunk and niceness, because realistically, it doesn't matter. I need more down time than the average person and this last 6 months proves it because I'm half crazy, I can feel it. *sigh*
Except for that appointment with the optometrist, I really should do that on Saturday. But I bet I can sqeeze it in in the morning...
And without fail, liberating my schedule always leaves me feeling FREE and able to breathe. I have a friend who shall remain nameless, and she's the worlds-best-multitasker. She cooks for potlucks, plays in the worship team, has a bazillion friends that she makes time for regularly, works part time, has two kids and one on the way...and she's still nice!! Give me 1/2 of that schedule and I'd be climbing the walls or running naked through the woods. So, I ask you, HOW does she do it?? If you're out there C., I'll just ask you- HOW DO YOU DO IT!?
Here's a brief recap of our life since March:
T-ball Tues and Thurs with games on Fri and sometimes Sat, gymnastics on Mondays, ladies bible study on Monday nights, small group with some friends on Wednesday nights, church on Sunday during which Ryan does sound, back to church Sunday night to help with sound and set up for the dinner they did for those who came for the Sunday night service, Ryan's truck's clutch goes out...two days later the tranny is discovered to be 'siezed up' and needs replacing also, too expensive, scrap the truck, borrow the Honda from Father in Law, air conditioning goes out, temps climp to the high 90's (of course they do), school's getting out, 2 parent's nights which Ryan and I split up for because they're also t-ball nights, gymnastics performance night, engine on my new-to-me Subaru goes out and needs to be replaced, put new engine in, IT goes out...ahem, right...put NEW new engine in car, all of this resulting in 3 weeks with only one pimpy Honda to drive the family around in...I score a landscaping job, do another pro bono for a pal and get another one from those two, Subaru goes back to the shop, I do a 4th landscaping job free of charge (it was for my mother)- all of this while; planning a trip to Mexico for August 1st, caring for 9 Scottish Terrier pups, cleaning up after a city sewer main breaks outside our house and floods our basement with poo, dealing with a refrigerator and washing machine which go out within a week of one another.....the list goes on. Seriously, it does.
All of this to say, I WANT MY WEEKENDS BACK. Starting Saturday. You're all my witnesses. I vow to pack a picnic and head to the zoo with my family. I will stroll, not run, through the exhibits and make time to stop and see the primates AND the bears. I will eat lunch on the grass with my husband of 9 years and watch the kids play unhurried. I will. I will. I will.
I will not forego the zoo trip to 'squeeze in' a coffee date with friends, a quick shopping trip or a bit of work on someones yard. I will not look at C.'s life and wonder why I don't have her energy and spunk and niceness, because realistically, it doesn't matter. I need more down time than the average person and this last 6 months proves it because I'm half crazy, I can feel it. *sigh*
Except for that appointment with the optometrist, I really should do that on Saturday. But I bet I can sqeeze it in in the morning...
