Take It Back!

My youngest child is in her fifth week of preschool.  So far I have had 60 hours of childless free time, but I realized yesterday that I have actually had NO me time in this sixty hours!  Friday of last week I was so exhausted from running around like a chicken with its head cut off...or perhaps I should sum it up as I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off and then suddenly I ran into my head!  Tired.  Worn out. Overscheduled.  Out of control.  That has been me.  I love love love doing things that help others and I love volunteering and being involved.  It came to a head when I felt that something was going to fall through the cracks and it was not going to be good.  Everything I do is important and everything I am involved in effects someone else or lots of other people.  However, in these sixty hours I have been put on the back burner.  My physical health.  My mental health.  My emotional health.  And, gulp, my spiritual health.  They have all been put on the back burner.  My effectiveness would be much less if I was the one that fell through the cracks.  I was standing at the edge of the crack, precariously close to falling in while juggling full plates above my head.  I was one foot over the edge, teetering right here, right at the cusp.  If one thing on one of my plates shifted, I would fall into the crack, through the crack, in a downward spiral.  STOP!

I believe if I didn't have AHA moment this weekend, I would be a free falling through the crack of my own busyness.  STOP!  PULL BACK!  TAKE IT BACK....TAKE BACK YOUR SCHEDULE!  Those are words my mind was screaming at me.  I have learned, the hard way, to listen to myself when I am close to the edge.  What does this mean?  How do I go from

to

without failing miserably?

I have thought about it.  I am going to have to make myself and my all around health a priority.  That means using that awful four letter-two letter word "no".  Yes, that word!  

I need to put myself on my planner.  Stop over-scheduling my outside activities.  Stop over-volunteering.  I have to stop and remember that I cannot be everywhere at one time.  I cannot be everything at one time.  Lets face it, I am not God.  In each thing I am involved in I am not the only person there, it is okay to expect other people to do things as well.  

During the week day, I think four hours max per week is what I am going to be using to volunteer.  The rest of the time I will be doing things for myself and spending time with those I love.  Wow, I feel so selfish saying that but, at the same time I am free!

My question for you....have you ever had to step back and re-evaluate?  What did you do?

Ode To Coffee

Oh coffee how I love thee!  
There is an abundant amount of love for you my dear coffee. 
A day without coffee would be melancholic and oppressive.  
There is just something about the warm liquid heaven cascading down my throat that makes my heart sing. 
Your delectable aroma filling my home causes me to salivate at the mouth.  
Combining just the right amount of cream and sugar with my coffee makes its consumption enjoyable to my innermost being.  
There are few highs and pleasures that can be likened to that experienced by coffee.  
Going a morning or day without you, my dear, coffee causes a pain unlikened to any I have ever experienced. 
 I cannot fathom the thought of a life without you my beloved and treasured coffee. 
There are no words or derivatives that can deftly explain my love for you my dear coffee.

Welcome to Google University

My oldest child is in third grade and his homework is much more difficult than when I was in third grade.  Or, perhaps I don't remember third grade, I don't quite remember what I ate for breakfast today...oh wait, did I have breakfast today?

Not a day goes by that I don't google at least one problem of his homework.  Today there was math homework which included writing an array, and how many stickers does Fernando have if he has three pages and eight stickers on each page.  First, google array, it means to arrange items in order...lesson one of third grade math for me.  An array doesn't mean a large range of items in math terms.  Interesting.  Also, the answer to this problem is not a purple people eater from outer space, which is what it could have been with my ....uh-hum....vast knowledge of math.  I finally found the answer to this problem and was able to assist my son in understanding how many stickers Fernando does in fact have.

Each year the homework is getting more and more difficult ***gulp*** but I assume that is how it is supposed to be.   Our homework station now includes more than pencils, crayons, and paper for the children.  It includes the laptop, scratch paper, and pencils for mommy to figure out this math along with her children!  

I know by the end of the school year I will be a proud graduate of Google University and also know much more math than I did at the beginning of the year! 

So, tell me....how many of you refer to google during homework time?!

Passions

What are you passionate about?  What defines you?

These are questions that have been on my mind recently.

I have come to the conclusion that I am passionate about three main things:

1.  My family - being a stellar housewife and stay at home mom

2. Volunteering - serving at my church, PTA at school, and helping others in the community

3.  Writing - writing blogs, my column for Gulf Coast Woman Magazine, and mentoring other women in writing

Finding your passions and what defines you is a rite of passage of sorts into a new season of life.  I have been thrust into a season of finding out who I am, what I am, and where I am going.  It is sad, terrifying, and at the same time exciting.  Learning about myself without the guilt of being selfish is amazing.

Take time to learn about yourself.  You deserve to be the best, most passionate you.