Regaining Control!

Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily chaos of running a home that we forget that we are supposed to living a life in the process! I know in our house, the kids are busy, my husband works a lot of hours and I am caught filling a lot of gaps and running to simply keep up with it all!
I woke up this morning, got the little girls ready for the day, planned dinner (yes, I planned dinner at 8 am!), helped the middle little one practice cartwheels for cheerleading camp, packaged a birthday party gift for a party to which the middle little one was invited--then realized that the middle little one had left not only her hair detangler at Grandma's house--but, the only wide-toothed hair pick that works in her ultra curly mop of hair was still there as well. I made a trip to the grocery store, got Macy's hair pulled into a cheerleading approved pony tail and was in a complete panic because my five year old was going to be late for cheerleading! I hadn't even gotten a cup of coffee!

STOP!

I realized that it was entirely ridiculous. I decided that I would not leave the house without my coffee--Macy was 7 minutes late for cheerleading instead of 3, I had a travel mug of coffee and the world did not stop. She even almost did a cartwheel! As I watched her do cheers and laugh and play, I realized what was missing from our weekend. So often as my husband and I catch up from the busy week, we take over the "free time" of the weekend with more work. The girls play around the house or the yard--but we have made ourselves too busy to go anywhere except the grocery store or the local zoo. Planned trips almost seem like jobs--and we feel so guilty that we are falling behind at home that we cannot allow ourselves to have fun!

No more. I called my husband (who was at work on a Saturday morning) and ordered him to make a list of three day trips he would like to take--tomorrow. Then I called our teenaged daughter (who was at home with the 3 year old and Max, the psycho puppy) and told her to help her sister make a list of things to do this weekend. Then I asked Macy (during a cheerleading water break) to do the same.

Later tonight we'll take a hat, throw in each of the trip possibilities, and pick one...and then tomorrow, we'll go there. Wherever it is--whatever it is. We are going to make time from here on out for time to live.