It Takes a Village
I used to work full time and wonder what on earth stay at home moms did all day. Especially stay at home wives with no kids. Really, I do all you do and work 40+ hours a week too. I get it done, what's the deal?
Wow. Stupid little young girl.
God loves showing me how ignorant I am. *sigh* His favorite way to do this is to put me in the position of another person I have judged. Ouch.
So, here I am, staying home with an older kid. Don't get me wrong, my life has never been better - I mean, I am living the dream. This has been what I've ALWAYS wanted. It's still what want. I am honestly daily blissed out. Kara is an amazing kid. She's fun and darling too. Michael is absolutely fabulous - 11 years later we're still going strong - he's sweet, kind, funny, and smokin' hot. The money is flowing now that we're in our 30s, and we're all established in and comfortable with who we are. Life is very, very good. I have to say, it's a lot of work though. This is what I have on my plate:
* teaching Kara school (which takes about 10+ hours a week to teach, and about 90 hours a week to prep - that MAY be an exaggeration, but that's what it feels like)
* making all phone calls it takes to run a house: cable, insurance, renovations, doctor/dentist appointments, car maintenance/repairs, etc.
* taking care of friends/family: visiting, bringing them meals when they're sick, etc. I take it very seriously and work hard to be a good friend/wife/mom/sister/daughter. At least one person at all times is recovering from surgery, having a baby, suffering from severe anxiety attacks/depression, etc.
* shop/plan/answer 956 questions a day for renovations (may be another exaggeration, but it's what it feels like)
* plan vacations
* raise Kara (does this bullet really only get 2 words? instilling Scripture, building her character, helping with friendships, scary early signs of hormones, basic grooming, etc. all take a lot of energy these days)
* volunteer 4-8 hours a week at church on the finance team
* head the homeschool group at church
* drive Kara to horse lessons, pottery, Awanas, etc.
* keep up with my weight, wrinkles, health, grooming
* shop for clothes, food, everything for the whole house
And the list goes on and on. How do I have time to actually run the house? Cook, clean, etc? What about gardening, keeping the cars clean, etc?
Will I ever have time for an actual hobby again?
I was feeling overwhelmed and wondering what I am going to do. So, I took it to God. Not only did he come up with a good plan (more on that in another post), but he sent me a team.
You see, I have a team of people who have randomly (I really believe God called them to) stepped up to help me.
My mom goes grocery shopping for me AND delivers the groceries to me. She also helps me with car appointments, etc.
My dad came and built me new shelves for my basement so I can be more organized.
I have a friend who can use the money, and she stepped up to clean my bathrooms.
Another friend needs money and stepped up to clean THE REST OF MY HOUSE.
Another friend needs money and cleans cars, shovels snow, rakes leaves, etc.
My mom helps me A LOT with Kara - she watches her whenever I need.
Michael doesn't care if I never cook again. He is happy to eat out every day.
The trick is, I have to accept this help. This is the hardest part for me. You see, I have to admit I can't do it all, admit it's hard, and admit I'm not perfect. I'm real. I want to cook every day, but I don't have time. I want to clean my own house, but there just isn't time. I want to cross stitch, bake, read, hike, bike, etc, but I don't have time for a hobby. I want to do all of those things I pinned on pinterest, but there is NO TIME.
I'm real and not perfect. This is real life, it's happening, and I am not going to let it pass me by. I am going to accept help from my God sent team so I can spend my days with my daughter, with my husband, with friends, at church, etc.
Relationships matter most.
This is better. It's better with help.
I'm eternally grateful for the team God sent me.
I read this awesome quote this week:
"You don't need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfection." -- Wilson Kanadi
Not that I necessarily need to inspire people, just want them to know I'm not perfect - God is. He is perfect, He loves us, and He loves taking care of us. I don't have to be strong enough because God gives me His strength. And that makes me stronger than any human can be.
Wow. Stupid little young girl.
God loves showing me how ignorant I am. *sigh* His favorite way to do this is to put me in the position of another person I have judged. Ouch.
So, here I am, staying home with an older kid. Don't get me wrong, my life has never been better - I mean, I am living the dream. This has been what I've ALWAYS wanted. It's still what want. I am honestly daily blissed out. Kara is an amazing kid. She's fun and darling too. Michael is absolutely fabulous - 11 years later we're still going strong - he's sweet, kind, funny, and smokin' hot. The money is flowing now that we're in our 30s, and we're all established in and comfortable with who we are. Life is very, very good. I have to say, it's a lot of work though. This is what I have on my plate:
* teaching Kara school (which takes about 10+ hours a week to teach, and about 90 hours a week to prep - that MAY be an exaggeration, but that's what it feels like)
* making all phone calls it takes to run a house: cable, insurance, renovations, doctor/dentist appointments, car maintenance/repairs, etc.
* taking care of friends/family: visiting, bringing them meals when they're sick, etc. I take it very seriously and work hard to be a good friend/wife/mom/sister/daughter. At least one person at all times is recovering from surgery, having a baby, suffering from severe anxiety attacks/depression, etc.
* shop/plan/answer 956 questions a day for renovations (may be another exaggeration, but it's what it feels like)
* plan vacations
* raise Kara (does this bullet really only get 2 words? instilling Scripture, building her character, helping with friendships, scary early signs of hormones, basic grooming, etc. all take a lot of energy these days)
* volunteer 4-8 hours a week at church on the finance team
* head the homeschool group at church
* drive Kara to horse lessons, pottery, Awanas, etc.
* keep up with my weight, wrinkles, health, grooming
* shop for clothes, food, everything for the whole house
And the list goes on and on. How do I have time to actually run the house? Cook, clean, etc? What about gardening, keeping the cars clean, etc?
Will I ever have time for an actual hobby again?
I was feeling overwhelmed and wondering what I am going to do. So, I took it to God. Not only did he come up with a good plan (more on that in another post), but he sent me a team.
You see, I have a team of people who have randomly (I really believe God called them to) stepped up to help me.
My mom goes grocery shopping for me AND delivers the groceries to me. She also helps me with car appointments, etc.
My dad came and built me new shelves for my basement so I can be more organized.
I have a friend who can use the money, and she stepped up to clean my bathrooms.
Another friend needs money and stepped up to clean THE REST OF MY HOUSE.
Another friend needs money and cleans cars, shovels snow, rakes leaves, etc.
My mom helps me A LOT with Kara - she watches her whenever I need.
Michael doesn't care if I never cook again. He is happy to eat out every day.
The trick is, I have to accept this help. This is the hardest part for me. You see, I have to admit I can't do it all, admit it's hard, and admit I'm not perfect. I'm real. I want to cook every day, but I don't have time. I want to clean my own house, but there just isn't time. I want to cross stitch, bake, read, hike, bike, etc, but I don't have time for a hobby. I want to do all of those things I pinned on pinterest, but there is NO TIME.
I'm real and not perfect. This is real life, it's happening, and I am not going to let it pass me by. I am going to accept help from my God sent team so I can spend my days with my daughter, with my husband, with friends, at church, etc.
Relationships matter most.
This is better. It's better with help.
I'm eternally grateful for the team God sent me.
I read this awesome quote this week:
"You don't need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfection." -- Wilson Kanadi
Not that I necessarily need to inspire people, just want them to know I'm not perfect - God is. He is perfect, He loves us, and He loves taking care of us. I don't have to be strong enough because God gives me His strength. And that makes me stronger than any human can be.
Comments
Also, you would have a lot more time for things if you lowered your standards. Your house doesn't have to be clean all the time and things don't have to be perfectly organized. It drives me crazy because I like things to be perfect too, but there is just not time. And I like having time for hobbies and sleep and hanging out with my family - those are way more important than cleaning my bathroom!