So does everyone else, it seems.
The last 4 days have been the perfect example of the importance of saying no. My life runs at the speed of light sometimes, and the with the demands on my time prioritization is a priority. I'm a wife and mother of 2 boys, I have a job outside the house, even more jobs within, and I'm involved in more than one ministry. Throw trying to stay physically, mentally and spiritually healthy into that mix and there just aren't enough hours in the day.
Last Thursday my husband called me as I was leaving my office to ask if I wanted to meet some friends 45 minutes away for bowling with our kids. Since the kids were off from school and I was off from work on Friday we went. And we had a wonderful time. Friday was stupid busy. My oldest son ended up in the doc's office, grocery shopping needed to be done ~ which is never a small task since it only gets done every 2 weeks ~ and then prep for pizza and game night ~ which also happens every 2 weeks. Somehow I managed to squeeze in a workout before half of our guests decided to arrive about an hour early. We had 20some people in our house Friday night, and we were finally kicking them out after 10pm.
Saturday morning, a free breakfast certificate was burning a hole in my husband's pocket. Then my son's allowance was burning a hole in his. And clean up from Friday night was still waiting for me. Saturday night we had people over for dinner again, and then took them to church with us. Sunday I actually got to rest a little ~ before heading out to a team building meeting for a ministry weekend we are involved in. We got home in enough time to put dinner in the over for the guests that were coming Sunday evening to discuss my husband's ideas for church planting.
Thank God for Monday. Back to the relaxation of my treatment room (I'm a massage therapist, for those who might not know.) I only worked a half-day due to my boys having dental appts (more busy) and I thought the rest of my evening would be just chilling at home. Silly me. In the 45 minutes that I tried to workout I received several texts and a phone call from people wanted to see me that evening. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!! I have been entertaining and surrounded by people all weekend!!!! Can't I be left ALONE for ONE evening?!! Here is where I demonstrate my ability to say NO. No, we cannot get together before our lunch date on Friday. No, I cannot meet you at a your friend's house to pray for them ~ I don't know them, anyway, so you'll have to pray for YOUR friend without me. No, I don't want to go out for dinner ~ I don't mind making dinner and being in the quiet of my own home with my boyz.
As I write this, it is Tuesday morning. My day off. And I have a ministry meeting 45 minutes away this afternoon ~ after I clean my house, do the laundry, and try to get a workout. Tomorrow evening we will have people over again, and then again on Friday (after my lunch date), and on Sunday we will be out of town. I hope no one other than my boyz want something from me Thursday or Saturday because the answer is going to be a resounding NO!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Gone Camping ~ The Rest of the Story
Saturday morning greeted us with our husky having escaped. Though his lead was long enough for him to get in the tent and move around inside, my son let him off the lead Friday night after they had gone to bed. Bandit is not a dumb dog ~ and he has been tent camping many, many times before. Thus, he has figured out how to paw the zipper to the tent door-flap enough to create an opening big enough to get his nose through. It's freedom from there. There were several moments of panic as we recognized that the campgrounds was off of a stretch of 2-lane state highway that has no reason to slow down. Also, this was not our familiar neighborhood, and the phone number on his collar was for the home phone, not one of our cell numbers. I took a flying walk through the grounds to see if he was romping though to no avail. As I was heading back to our site, I saw our son take off down the road and knew the dog had been spotted. No worse for ware, though knowing he was in very deep trouble, the dog was dragged by his collar back to the site. All before we'd even made the coffee.
Saturday was still hot. We spent the morning sitting in the shade reading or playing Apples to Apples. After lunch we visited the swimming lake. Dinner was everyone's favorite ~ campfire pizza pies. By this time our neighbors for the rest of the weekend had arrived and the sun was hiding behind gray clouds. It did rain on us for a few minutes, but nothing to really dampen our plans to hangout and relax by the campfire.
Sunday was cooler. Our little guy wanted to go back to the swimming lake, but there was enough of a chill in the air to prevent that. My in-laws joined us for lunch, which turned out to be a pleasant visit. Though, I did hear that they almost didn't make it because of a spat ~ over what I wasn't told. We got to see our nieces, too, which is always a reminder as to why I am so grateful to have boys. Sunday evening rained on us again, but it was short and painless for the most part. We were still able to cook dinner over the campfire and chill.
Monday morning was COLD ~ as in I-can-see-my-breath cold. And our 14-year-old only packed t-shirts. "It was hot on Friday when I packed." He was quite chilly that morning. We didn't have any plans for Memorial Day other than getting home, so we were planning on a low-key breakdown and mosey home. Then we changed our mind. We didn't make any extraordinary efforts, but we did move with a purpose. We loaded up after a fantastic breakfast and headed home.
Despite the laziness of camping, there is an insane amount of work in the prep and clean-up ~ and I was beat. Of course, the fact that our camping neighbors were night owls probably contributed to my exhaustion since their rustling around at their site at all hours tended to keep me from continuous sleep. We unloaded the gear and began the task of washing bedding and organizing in the garage, and suddenly no longer had the energy for it. I was in bed, out cold by 845 that evening ~ even before by kids. I finally stirred again 9 hours later when the clock on my nightstand announced the arrival of the beginning of my workday.
All in all, I'd say we had a good trip. But I am not too upset that we won't make it out again this season.
Saturday was still hot. We spent the morning sitting in the shade reading or playing Apples to Apples. After lunch we visited the swimming lake. Dinner was everyone's favorite ~ campfire pizza pies. By this time our neighbors for the rest of the weekend had arrived and the sun was hiding behind gray clouds. It did rain on us for a few minutes, but nothing to really dampen our plans to hangout and relax by the campfire.
Sunday was cooler. Our little guy wanted to go back to the swimming lake, but there was enough of a chill in the air to prevent that. My in-laws joined us for lunch, which turned out to be a pleasant visit. Though, I did hear that they almost didn't make it because of a spat ~ over what I wasn't told. We got to see our nieces, too, which is always a reminder as to why I am so grateful to have boys. Sunday evening rained on us again, but it was short and painless for the most part. We were still able to cook dinner over the campfire and chill.
Monday morning was COLD ~ as in I-can-see-my-breath cold. And our 14-year-old only packed t-shirts. "It was hot on Friday when I packed." He was quite chilly that morning. We didn't have any plans for Memorial Day other than getting home, so we were planning on a low-key breakdown and mosey home. Then we changed our mind. We didn't make any extraordinary efforts, but we did move with a purpose. We loaded up after a fantastic breakfast and headed home.
Despite the laziness of camping, there is an insane amount of work in the prep and clean-up ~ and I was beat. Of course, the fact that our camping neighbors were night owls probably contributed to my exhaustion since their rustling around at their site at all hours tended to keep me from continuous sleep. We unloaded the gear and began the task of washing bedding and organizing in the garage, and suddenly no longer had the energy for it. I was in bed, out cold by 845 that evening ~ even before by kids. I finally stirred again 9 hours later when the clock on my nightstand announced the arrival of the beginning of my workday.
All in all, I'd say we had a good trip. But I am not too upset that we won't make it out again this season.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Gone Camping ~ Prep and Day 1
With Josh having spent the majority of the summer preaching on Saturday evenings, we didn't really get to camp this year. So, on a kind of a whim, we decided a week beforehand to go camping over Labor Day weekend.
The fun began even before the weekend. That Wednesday evening Josh tells me that Ty is going to try to "negotiate" his way out of going. What on earth gave him the idea that this was negotiable? We were planning on spending 3 nights over an hour away. Why would he think he was going to be able to convince me to let him stay home? He said he was going to offer to clean the whole house. In 3 day he'd better have scrubbed every wall, dusted every book on every shelf and then the shelves themselves, washed anything that even resembled laundry, pulled every dish out of every cupboard and scrubbed them till they sparkled ~ and that would have been just Friday evening. On Saturday, he would have to scrub the bathrooms with a toothbrush, scrub the carpet in his bedroom, scoop and scrub litter boxes, prime and paint the hall upstairs... You get the point. There was no way he was staying home. Let the pouting, grumbling and surly attitude begin.
Then Josh and I talked about the camping menu. I told him that we were pretty broke but if we used food we already had, and maybe picked up a few extras that are always camping favorites, we could probably swing it. The suggested menu involved picking up more than I had anticipated, and when I brought up the need to scale it back a little Josh was put out. More pouting. I offered to let him get everything he wanted if he could find a way to make the money appear. I think he may have sold his soul, but somehow he came up with it.
Friday was CRAZY. I spent all of my day in packing and prep. Because we hadn't really been camping this season, there was a lot of replacing odd supplies ~ paper products, broken tent pegs, and the like. The only other time we camped this year was with a group of friends at a nearby state park ~ the the storms were WICKED. Almost frightening. The rain pounded pretty hard and I swear lightning struck out site. We found out that the seams on our tent needed to be resealed. Two stores didn't have the sealer, and I finally ended up at a sporting goods store just to get this one item. It was worth it, though.
We get all packed up and hit the road, Josh and myself quite happy about finally going camping. It was somewhere around 90 degrees when we got to the campgrounds Friday evening, and setting up camp in the heat was laborious. But finally, FINALLY we were there and enjoying the anticipation of just chilling for a few days.
The fun began even before the weekend. That Wednesday evening Josh tells me that Ty is going to try to "negotiate" his way out of going. What on earth gave him the idea that this was negotiable? We were planning on spending 3 nights over an hour away. Why would he think he was going to be able to convince me to let him stay home? He said he was going to offer to clean the whole house. In 3 day he'd better have scrubbed every wall, dusted every book on every shelf and then the shelves themselves, washed anything that even resembled laundry, pulled every dish out of every cupboard and scrubbed them till they sparkled ~ and that would have been just Friday evening. On Saturday, he would have to scrub the bathrooms with a toothbrush, scrub the carpet in his bedroom, scoop and scrub litter boxes, prime and paint the hall upstairs... You get the point. There was no way he was staying home. Let the pouting, grumbling and surly attitude begin.
Then Josh and I talked about the camping menu. I told him that we were pretty broke but if we used food we already had, and maybe picked up a few extras that are always camping favorites, we could probably swing it. The suggested menu involved picking up more than I had anticipated, and when I brought up the need to scale it back a little Josh was put out. More pouting. I offered to let him get everything he wanted if he could find a way to make the money appear. I think he may have sold his soul, but somehow he came up with it.
Friday was CRAZY. I spent all of my day in packing and prep. Because we hadn't really been camping this season, there was a lot of replacing odd supplies ~ paper products, broken tent pegs, and the like. The only other time we camped this year was with a group of friends at a nearby state park ~ the the storms were WICKED. Almost frightening. The rain pounded pretty hard and I swear lightning struck out site. We found out that the seams on our tent needed to be resealed. Two stores didn't have the sealer, and I finally ended up at a sporting goods store just to get this one item. It was worth it, though.
We get all packed up and hit the road, Josh and myself quite happy about finally going camping. It was somewhere around 90 degrees when we got to the campgrounds Friday evening, and setting up camp in the heat was laborious. But finally, FINALLY we were there and enjoying the anticipation of just chilling for a few days.
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