Just over two weeks have passed since I left Joel and his full therapy schedule at Sister Kenny to return home to motherhood of a big family. Two weeks of homeschooling, household management, church music, and trying to restore organization seem like a blur. I still want to enjoy reading a good book, as I did during lunch breaks and before bed while caring for Joel in the hospitals, but guilt plagues me because if I take the time to do so, tasks remain unfinished. Coordinating trips to town ("Can anybody carpool today?"), meals for six ("Who's going to be home for lunch? Supper?"), laundry, cleaning chores and educational needs takes a lot more energy, effort and time than scratching Joel's head, listening to his caregivers and medical personnel, and keeping a positive attitude. Plus I don't sleep as many hours or get outside as much.
Reading the above paragraph makes me wonder why I'm not spending more time with the Lord. It sounds like I need His strength more than ever! But ironically, I seem to think I can get by with less prayer and Bible time, and skipping the "gratitude journal," because now I'm in familiar territory. Also, I have much more human interaction with the kids and Pete, so quiet time is harder to come by. No wonder I'm feeling burned out already, and lack energy and motivation. Lord, forgive my pride and help me seek Your face, Your Spirit, Your wisdom and Your strength.
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Monday, September 16, 2013
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Batter Up!
It really has been a summer of watching ball games. Joel and Daniel played slow-pitch softball for four different teams - two in the Men's League on Monday nights; one in the Co-Rec League on Wednesday nights; and the Svea Gold Team in the Church League on Thursday nights. Sarah played fast-pitch softball for the Willmar 18U (age 18 and under) team on Tuesday nights, and joined Pete and Andrew on the Svea Bronze Team on Thursdays. Philip played on the Willmar Twins, a 5th- and 6th-grade team with Willmar Community Ed and Rec. They practiced on Thursdays and played games on Mondays and Wednesdays. Except for the church teams, I watched only a few of each softball team's games, but saw most of Philip's games in the last three weeks. Getting everyone to the right field at the right time provided some interesting exercise in car coordination. This week Sarah and I stayed home from a Sioux Falls bridal shower for Callie because between meetings and ball games, we needed the extra drivers and car.
Attending and chauffeuring shouldn't cause a problem, but I try to catch up on so many household areas during the summer that going to a ball game every night feels like a chore instead of a privilege. Cooking has fallen by the wayside, for supper anyway; we've eaten in Willmar (before or after games) far more than usual. Reorganizing cupboards and systems, purging photo collections, catching up on albums, working on 4-H projects, keeping the kids productive, preparing books to sell, practicing for an August program and tying up loose ends on the spring school work join the usual daily or weekly chores of cooking, cleaning, yard work, money management, exercise, weightlifting, laundry, church activities and ball games to make the summer feel like an exhausting whirl instead of a relaxing vacation.
On the positive side, lots of opportunities for discussions on sportsmanship and excellence have arisen. The importance of practice and the difference between "illegal" and "unethical" has been demonstrated. Everyone has made their share of blunders and bloopers, and hopefully learned a little more humility. And Svea still has the best fans!
Attending and chauffeuring shouldn't cause a problem, but I try to catch up on so many household areas during the summer that going to a ball game every night feels like a chore instead of a privilege. Cooking has fallen by the wayside, for supper anyway; we've eaten in Willmar (before or after games) far more than usual. Reorganizing cupboards and systems, purging photo collections, catching up on albums, working on 4-H projects, keeping the kids productive, preparing books to sell, practicing for an August program and tying up loose ends on the spring school work join the usual daily or weekly chores of cooking, cleaning, yard work, money management, exercise, weightlifting, laundry, church activities and ball games to make the summer feel like an exhausting whirl instead of a relaxing vacation.
On the positive side, lots of opportunities for discussions on sportsmanship and excellence have arisen. The importance of practice and the difference between "illegal" and "unethical" has been demonstrated. Everyone has made their share of blunders and bloopers, and hopefully learned a little more humility. And Svea still has the best fans!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Old Friends are the Best Friends
What a wonderful weekend! Shelley & Jon, my college roommate and her husband, came from Friday evening til Sunday afternoon and we talked nonstop the whole time. We would start on a topic - say, one of the kids and how he liked college - and pretty soon we'd covered government regulations, our dreams for housing someday, and a friend's husband's cancer! Or some such...
On Saturday Shelley & I went around to some realtor's open houses, just to see what's in the area for when we eventually move. Oh, the beautiful things some people have and do. The vaulted ceilings; sliding glass doors; stone counter tops; sitting areas with fireplaces; tile floors; desk nooks, and in one house, a greenhouse right in the middle of the living space with skylights - all were inspirational. It makes me excited to move, and wondering whether we'll buy a place that's ready to move into, or do our own remodeling or redecorating.
Saturday evening Jon & Shelley took Pete & me to the local sit-down Chinese restaurant. Yum yum yum! We had 4 dishes - one shrimp, one pork, one chicken, one beef - and even the spicy ones weren't too spicy for me, so we all ate some of each, and egg rolls, wontons and shrimp appetizers besides. Rolling out the door, we laughed and talked some more.
Sunday morning the congregation was in top form - I rarely hear the singing as loudly as I did yesterday. We had a guest speaker who has been to Honduras 22 years in a row. He's a carpenter and had great stories to tell of God's provision. He felt the Lord wanted him to build a certain building early on, which would cost $3000 that Alan didn't have. He went to a builder's convention and won the grand door prize of $3000 plus round-trip airfare to anywhere in the world. Again, inspirational! Afterwards we thoroughly enjoyed a delicious potluck.
After our friends left and we had a nap, David called and we talked for an hour and a half about his life and (girl) concerns. We'll see him in a couple of weeks when we go down to Augie to watch the Viking Varieties talent show, in which he and 3 others will sing "Java Jive." That's a special treat for us, because we used to sing it with Pete's brother & wife, Tom & Judy. In fact, we won the County Fair talent contest and went to the State Fair with it in 1998.
We relaxed the rest of the day, finishing off with "Tangled" - what an excellent movie with great themes and lessons! - and an episode of the old TV show, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Altogether an extremely fun weekend.
On Saturday Shelley & I went around to some realtor's open houses, just to see what's in the area for when we eventually move. Oh, the beautiful things some people have and do. The vaulted ceilings; sliding glass doors; stone counter tops; sitting areas with fireplaces; tile floors; desk nooks, and in one house, a greenhouse right in the middle of the living space with skylights - all were inspirational. It makes me excited to move, and wondering whether we'll buy a place that's ready to move into, or do our own remodeling or redecorating.
Saturday evening Jon & Shelley took Pete & me to the local sit-down Chinese restaurant. Yum yum yum! We had 4 dishes - one shrimp, one pork, one chicken, one beef - and even the spicy ones weren't too spicy for me, so we all ate some of each, and egg rolls, wontons and shrimp appetizers besides. Rolling out the door, we laughed and talked some more.
Sunday morning the congregation was in top form - I rarely hear the singing as loudly as I did yesterday. We had a guest speaker who has been to Honduras 22 years in a row. He's a carpenter and had great stories to tell of God's provision. He felt the Lord wanted him to build a certain building early on, which would cost $3000 that Alan didn't have. He went to a builder's convention and won the grand door prize of $3000 plus round-trip airfare to anywhere in the world. Again, inspirational! Afterwards we thoroughly enjoyed a delicious potluck.
After our friends left and we had a nap, David called and we talked for an hour and a half about his life and (girl) concerns. We'll see him in a couple of weeks when we go down to Augie to watch the Viking Varieties talent show, in which he and 3 others will sing "Java Jive." That's a special treat for us, because we used to sing it with Pete's brother & wife, Tom & Judy. In fact, we won the County Fair talent contest and went to the State Fair with it in 1998.
We relaxed the rest of the day, finishing off with "Tangled" - what an excellent movie with great themes and lessons! - and an episode of the old TV show, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Altogether an extremely fun weekend.
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