Take a Deep Breath

I can’t remember the last time I didn’t feel behind … the last time I didn’t need to run faster, stay up later, get more done, prioritize better. Just like that commercial where the digital images stay frozen in someone’s camera, mine stay frozen on my hard drive, calling out to be labeled, cropped or red-eye reduced, winkflashed, facebooked and tagged. Every day brings remarkable blessings or lessons from God I want to record and share here, yet no blog writes itself. Marketing connections languish in my inbox. Writing-related emails need answered, but an answer gives fruit to another response. Editing clients contract more manuscripts. Children need to be forced to read, to play, to swim. And life slips by …

Guilt builds. Oh, maybe it’s not guilt, but a subconscious fear that I can’t keep up. This morning we drove down to Salem for my best friend’s son’s birthday: a Survivor extravagance. It had tree mail, challenges, and buffs. The kids had a blast, and I couldn’t help but smile the whole time watching the fun.

Since we were going through a town sixty times the size of where I live, I swung by the bank and grocery shopped before coming home to unload, start laundry, clean up, and do the best I could to referee child squabbles as a single parent. OCW ran Aug. 26-30, then family camp from the 31-Aug 2, a wedding that night. I’m exhausted, but happy …. and could not dredge up the energy to hit the marketing this afternoon/evening like I should have.

So you know what I did? Yes, after listening to my litany of a life that is surely no more busy than your own, you will hear encouragement! I took the evening off. BBQed steaks and sat down with the kiddos for a nice meal. As a single mom with little ones, it’s easy to get by on Tuna Helper and Mac N Cheese. I wanted to treat them and show how much I love them and being around them.

(Let’s skip the part where I dealt with two pee incidents from two different mammals within five minutes …)

Then we put on our suits and hit the pool at 7. Surprisingly warm water! Yet, not where any pee incidents occurred. 😉 After kids were in bed and I’d caught up on the paper, I even worked out.

Are you running crazy, the start of the school year already looming and summer waning? Take a day off. Cut yourself some slack. Read a good book. Sit by a pool. Visit a forever friend. Enjoy life!

You can get back to work tomorrow …

The two tribes, Ninjas vs. Navy Seals

Water/balance challenge–Don’t spill!

Host Jesse “Probst” reveals the mystery food item:
Lays potato chips as dried beatle wings

My sweet daughter eating mud/pudding

Three runners retrieved color-coded bags, then three solvers put the puzzle together.
Any guesses of what it said?