Keeping My Sanity

I just finished a week where my husband was away on business, we had three softball games, two softball practices, one soccer practice, a field trip to chaperone, a viewing to attend, and a therapy appointment to keep with my 3 kids. 

Maybe I should say, I "survived" the week?

Some of you are old pros. (I don't mean "old," I mean "veteran.") You look at my list and say, "Ha! I see your games, practices, and appointments, and I RAISE you music lessons, concerts, swim lessons... etc. AND I'm a single parent. Check and mate!"

It's not a contest. We're all busy. We all know what we can handle. We also all know when we are pushed to the limit. 

Last week, I was pushed.

I received advice beforehand like, 
"Don't worry about the house."
"Put Papa John on speed dial."
"Invest in paper plates." (That, I already do.)

But you know what? If I left my house a mess, I think I would have gone crazy. Leaving dishes in the sink would have nagged me to the thinking that the meal isn't "really" over. There will be more work. Because... I can leave them there for a day, but at some point, those dishes will need to be done.

I vacuumed every day, as I normally do. Part of the reason I do that is so I can pick up the clutter on the floor. I may have felt like I didn't have time for this, but it is always possible to squeeze 10 minutes out somewhere. 

And then I had the sanity of having no visual clutter on the floor. (Instead, I had piles of clutter on tables. I could ignore looking at that for a few days, but at least I could walk and not step on toys.)

Remember, this is me, not you. You may only vacuum every 2 weeks, because that's all that's needed at your house. Or you can deal with a dirty floor. But maybe you need to weed your garden every day. My garden will not be weeded this year. Sorry if that makes you cringe.

You have your thing and I have mine. We have our routines to keep our sanity. When we keep our routines, our lives are tricked into thinking we've got this. We can handle whatever is thrown at us and still look normal. (Even if normal is just a setting on the dryer.)

I survived the week. Thanks to the prayers I received, God gave me the strength I needed to take it by the nape of the neck and throw it down. Now, we're on to a new week. It's going to be just as busy, but now at least, my husband is back. And my floors are picked up.

Yeah. I've got this. (Thanks, God!)

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