Things Around Here

Things around here are busy... I'm sitting in our office during what seems like a huge thunderstorm outside because it hasn't rained in literally a month.  It's almost refreshing in a way seeing the wind blow through the trees, streets getting soaked, and hearing the sound of the wind howling.  It's almost as if life was breathed back into nature.  

I worked from home yesterday afternoon after a meeting, and I sat up my computer in our kitchen to finish my day, and I couldn't get past how awful our house looked and I became overwhelmed with the amount of work that I wanted to do in our house to get it to the point that I consider satisfactory.  So, I did what I do best and made a list of the items that I could accomplish from now and throughout the weekend, so I could have a clear goal of the things I wanted to get done and have the joy of crossing tasks off the list.  Then, of course, Greg called and asked if I wanted to go biking on a trail by our house, so I decided it was more important to spend time together since our week is so full of activities of our own.

The items on this particular list were to do the dishes, fold the laundry, sew the curtains for the Dining Room, fix the paint in the half bath, patch the wall in the Dining Room, mop the kitchen floors and apply the Orange Glow finish, wipe down the kitchen cabinets and fix the stain where it has been removed for whatever reason, wipe down all the baseboards and doors, organize the back of the basement, pull out all the dead plants in the yards and pull weeds, spray paint the exterior fixture in the backyard, and clean our bathroom.  And to also mention that we have to cook and clean up after ourselves throughout the week, go grocery shopping, the wood on the stairs needs to be dusted, we have to do our weekly vacuuming, we're installing a fence this weekend, AND we have no energy.  I think I'm just writing these down for you, so I will be held accountable for finishing them. 

A typical week for us is Mondays - the Bachelor is on and I go to my friend's house to make dinner and watch the show, Tuesdays - Greg plays on an ultimate frisbee team in Lawrence, but he hasn't gone to most of his games because he is worn out, Wednesdays - Greg plays on a work softball team in Olathe, Thursdays - no plans, but typically we are preparing for the weekend, Fridays and Saturdays - usually always hanging out with friends and inviting them over where we speed clean to make the house look presentable, and Sundays - catching up on sleep, being lazy around the house, running errands and going to church...

So, back to the matter at hand.  Things around here are busy, but I guess I'm somewhat guilty of this because this is the life I'm choosing for myself.  I love to be busy, but I feel like I'm drowning with things that aren't important.  I've never been a procrastinator, but now more than ever I don't like starting a project that I can't finish.  I had dreams of a perfectly put together house, evenings of coming home and loving to work out, and possibly working on a craft project or being able to read a book. 

We've all had these dreams or similar ones and my life is no different than yours.  We are all busy trying to get by as best as we can, sometimes finding success and other times failing miserably.  It's hard to find that balance in our lives because each week our needs change, and we have to work towards a new goal and dedicate our time to something different; all along not forgetting to love those near and dear to us.

It's very awakening, and might I say uncomfortable, to sit back and self-reflect on what's going on in your life, where you're headed, and what you consider important, and if you're going to get there on the track that you're on.  I think if we really thought about it, we would probably be encouraged to change a few things, be inspired by the simple things in life that make us happy, and love ourselves and those around us unconditionally.