Please Leave a Message

As I mentioned a few days ago, Rick doesn't think I'm good at time management. He knows I go full speed all day every day, but that I feel like I'm not getting anything done, at least nothing I WANT to get done. And as I also mentioned a few days ago, I hate that he's right.

So starting today, April 11th (which happens to be my half birthday -- I'm now 42 1/2... UGH! Which I didn't even realize until writing that sentence...) I have implemented a new schedule for myself.

Here's the problem. I'm a stay-at-home mom. Kind of. I mean, I'm legally disabled -- the government pays me not to work due to my health problems. But at the end of the day, with three of the four kids still in the house (I miss my Shandalanda), I'm a stay at home mom.

And you know what that means? It means I OBVIOUSLY have all the time in the world to do everything for everyone else the moment they contact me. Over the course of the last three years, I've allowed myself to be too accessible. Rick ever so lovingly pointed out that the situation I find myself in is a direct result of my allowing it to happen.

Between the house, the gardens, the kids, the dogs, my husband, Scouts, Carly's band, Carly's theater, Cooper's Boy Scouts, Sydney's color guard and band and art club, the laundry and the laundry and the laundry and the laundry, dinner, dishes and dishes and dishes, vacuuming and mopping -- those are my biggest time sucks. That doesn't include the other things: dusting, toilets, errands for groceries, running around with Rick on weekends when I'm not with Scouts... I mean, it's endless.

Gotta love the retro apron she's wearing, right?! 

Now don't get me wrong. I KNOW I'm very blessed to have this new life of mine. I love that there are so many things for my kids and my family to be involved in and help them grow as individuals. But sometimes I just want to stop and BREATHE for a moment.

As I type this out, I've taken a lunch break from my office. We gutted it a few weeks back and I'm still working on getting everything back in place so I can sew and get projects moving. From the chair I'm sitting in, there are two different crocheting projects staring me down and a pile of book/journal covers waiting to be photographed and put up in my shop on Etsy. I love to blog and I used to ALL the time -- but it's one of the things that fell to the side when everything else smothered it out. Why did I let that happen? No idea. But I'm aware of it and now I'm working on fixing it, one post at a time.

Making time for what BRENDA wants to do.

Because that's who I am. I know I'm a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a Scout leader and others depend on me for those positions in their lives, and I'm glad they do. But I'm also Brenda and I have interests outside of those other things. I have the NEED to create. I need to cultivate those things that make Brenda happy to keep that desire from burning out.

So I created a schedule. Today is my first day with it, and it seems to be working. It won't always work like I have planned. As of right now, mornings are for being in my office to create. When I do my big errands/grocery days, I like to those in the mornings after the school run (and I sometimes get a lunch date with my Richard!) But it's a mental acknowledgement of prioritizing. And I think that it will work.

So if you call and I don't answer, that's why. If you HAVE to leave voicemail, okay but I hate hate hate checking that, so your best bet would be to text me.

Talking to Rick a bit ago, telling him my plans for rest of the day, he said: "Well, don't forget about the house!"

No worries, honey. Even if I COULD forget about all the things calling me from within this house, you'd be RIGHT THERE to remind me. *kisses*