Things Not Going As Planned?
December 15, 2009 by Marci
There are some days when getting just one thing done is a huge success!!
Why is it that the days I have set aside to get things done are the same days my kids really need me? Why is it that the days I really want to spend some quality time with the kids, they would rather do anything than be with me? Why do I hear God laughing every time I make plans?
Sound familiar to anyone or is it just me? Last night, I wrote out a long to-do list. I woke up early with big plans. However, I no sooner got dressed than the drama began. I will spare you the details, but it did involve a preschooler waking up way too early and grouchy. His mood and people skills did not improve throughout the morning. The 3rd grade drama queen did not help with her new found hobby of antagonizing her brother. I’d love to tell you I handled it all gracefully and used those teachable moments to mold my children into the very likeness of God and still managed to plow through my list. Whatever….I lost it about 8am. After an hour or so of fighting, I gave up the list and just concentrated on surviving the morning.
So, here I am. It is almost 2 in the afternoon. One item is scratched off my list. We did manage to get home school finished today, but that’s about it. It is peaceful in our house. The little one is at preschool and my daughter is writing about Africa upstairs. A part of me says I should attack that to-do list, while another says just rest while I can!
At one time in my life, I would have looked at this virtually untouched to-do list and gotten way stressed out. My pulse would have raced and my chest would have tightened. I would have spent this sweet, quiet time racing around. Now, I look at this list and see no emergencies. I see a few things I can finish later this afternoon and this evening. The rest can wait until tomorrow. It wasn’t my original plan, but it will be fine.
I have found that the stress doesn’t always come from not getting to the bottom of the to-do list. The stress can come from our “plans” being interrupted. It’s often the loss of control that we can’t handle. Many of us simply can’t go with the flow when we need to. (And, others go with the flow too often. There is a balance!)
How do you react when your plans get interrupted? Can you adapt or do you let stress take over?
—————————————-
This was a 30 minute or less post. Even though I love blogging, I don’t want to spend my whole day online. Check out other 30 minute mom-blog posts at Steady Mom.
Comments (6)
Great post!!! Just lately I have been fighting the niggling voice that says “You are getting nothing done” but actually our baby is happy, fatter, funnier… the older kids are fed, happy, learning all the time… Our house isn’t perfectly clean, every errand isn’t run and every single to do doesn’t get to the done list… but we are growing, living and loving – hardly doing nothing.
Boy…..I wish I could say I have learned to slow down, but I still get caught up in the thinking that requires houseclening, instead of loving on my kids or hubby!
I enjoyed reading, “His mood and people skills did not improve…” I interpreted it to be a case of understatement:)
Blessings on your tomorrow!
So good to choose rest over needless worry and rush. This is something I have finally begun to learn this last year, and my heart and our home have been much more peaceful as a result. There will always be a to-do list… The quiet moments, the special times are rare. We need to be fierce about defending those times from the daily hassle.
Yes, yes, yes!
I have three kids under 4 and have found that letting the list go is critical to my sanity, many times. I absolutely take and savor those precious moments of down time, because I believe my sanity and happiness is more important than another thing crossed off the list.
That said, there IS a balance in there somewhere, because getting your house and life organized also leads to a more pleasant life, right? I lean more often to the enjoying the moment/skipping the chores, and need to learn when its right to Let It Go and when its not….
I think I tend to go with the flow…but still later stress about what didn’t get done! It helps me, when I can see it’s needed, to just have a planned “nothing” day, when I decide to focus on resting and spending quality time with my kids. But then I have to make sure I get back to that to-do list the next day!