My last post was 4 weeks ago. And, it wasn't even my post. It was my dear friend Michelle's guest post. I am guessing it was the busyness of the school year ending, writers block, laziness, or a bit of everything combined, but I need to get back on the saddle.
Here's the skinny on the last 4 weeks:
Ellie turned 3. She is such a bright light of life in our home. Such a personality and joy to be around. She got a day of pampering: hair cut, starbucks, mani and pedi, and build-a-bear. [She got rid of all her pacifiers in the stomach of "binka" bear.] We had a small "yellow minnie" family party for her to celebrate.
I handmade 26 teacher gifts. It takes a village, folks. I don't know if succulents were a good gift, in retrospect. Most teachers looked scared at the idea of taking care of a plant, but at least they turned out cute. (the heart on the back is Jayden's thumb print on the left and Brooklyn's on the right)
Jayden had a swallow study done at Lurie Children's. Results? We have to start thickening his liquids to a nectar/smoothie consistency and it looks like we will be doing a g-tube (feeding tube) sometime in 2015. Not the best news. But we would rather be proactive and get it done when it is safe. And, we saw sweet Livia there as well!
Justin took over OASIS, our special needs ministry at our church, so we have been busy doing training, intakes and schedules.
School ended last week and our wonderful friends at The Sanctuary run an overnight camp for children with special needs in Ingleside this week so Jayden and Brooklyn are making memories there. Ellie is in Rockford and I have a glorious day alone!
Oh yeah, and I am in a new, fun once-a-month group for moms of children with special needs and love Jesus. We are reading through a great book, Holding Onto Hope
Not to mention therapies, graduation parties, work, and case management!
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Well, I guess that is why it's been 4 weeks since I have paused.
Such is life, right?
When I fall off the saddle, I color code. It's the dreaded Type A in me. A few days ago, I decided to start fresh and start a new schedule. I came to the realization that the important things were absent from my priority list. I was spending way more time than I'd like to admit watching late night TV cause I was just spent from the day and wanted to unplug. Which then makes me sleep in, missing the morning routine, making me play catch up all day, rushed and late, only to be exhausted on the couch watching tv.
Can you relate?
So I decided to break the cycle. A day that could be filled with things I would be proud of, things I was made to do, and people I needed to make a priority. I marked out each hour of the day down the left of my numbers sheet (excel for you microsoft folk) and wrote the days at the top.
First thing on the schedule? Sleep. Because I need 8 hours and want to wake up before noon the next day, I reserved 9PM-5AM for sleep. The goal is to wake up and write from 5-6AM Sunday through Thursday and run 6-7AM Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday before work. The other days, I plan on taking the kids so Justin can run.
I also added time on the schedule for bedtime. Free time for us usually happens after the kids go to bed, but now that I will be going to bed at the same time as the kids, Jut and I are going to try to rotate who does bedtimes so Jut can watch his animal shows and I can watch a program here or there.
And after a week, I haven't hit the target perfectly yet. And, I am giving myself enough grace to be a work in progress.
The first morning was glorious, but it was more like 5:30AM. The birds were chirping and the sun was out. The second morning I ran, but came back limping.
Sometimes we just get off track. Not bad. Not good. Just off. And lately I have felt the invitation to realign my life to match my priorities. I am learning as I get older, it is less about not doing bad things and do good, and more about which good things do I want to give my time. And, I am discovering, it is a lot harder to say no to good things. For me, freedom has come from building in margin to be present and engaged. Not rushed ALL the time, letting my body and mind rest. Not mind-numbing rest (although I like that too) but intentional, slowing, breathing rest.
Where do you need to build your margin?
Do you find your schedule matches your priorities?
leave a comment below and
let me know how it's going for you!
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Oh!
Before you go, just wanted to mention our 5K is scheduled! September 12, 2015
at Illinois Beach State Park
to raise money for gene therapy at Nationwide Hospital. Learn more and sign up today!
