off the hook, yo!
Maybe I'm alone in this, but I've got a lot of rules for my life. They're generally self imposed, expectations of what I should be doing. I'm like the Clark Griswold of just plain old every day. Good old Clark. He always had such great ideas, wonderful plans. He had great intentions and great expectations. And then life would happen to him and ruin all of his big plans, turning him into a blithering idiot. That's me. I wake up in the morning and I think to myself, "Today is going to be great. We're going to get so much done and have so much fun!" And usually by the end of the day, I'm, well, a blithering idiot. And, guess what? My cute little optimistic heart, tells me the same thing the next morning and the next and the next and the next...
This is what my day should look like, according to me.
- get cheerfully out of bed
- pray
- read my Bible
- exercise
- shower, dress, make up
- get my kids up and dressed
- make breakfast for my family
- empty the dishwasher
- put a load of laundry in
- fold a load of laundry
- clean the kitchen
- get kids started with whatever the day entails (get them on the bus, give them some chores, read to them)
- do my chores
- do some volunteer work
- do more laundry
- make a healthy lunch
- clean it up
- bake with the kids
- read with the kids
- have a snack
- clean it up
- encourage other women
- make dinner (doh, should have done that in the morning)
- afternoon kid activities (homework, playtime, etc)
- do more laundry
- fix my make up
- tidy up the house
- welcome my husband home, smiling
- finish and serve dinner
- clean it up
- family devotions
- family game time
- put the kids to bed
- spend quality time with my husband
- run the dishwasher
- put the last load of laundry in on a timer so it's ready for the morning
- in bed by 10
I'm hysterical, aren't I? Seriously! Ain't nobody got time for that! And you know what? I've missed stuff! I mean, at no point in that list do you see "go to the bathroom," or "clean pizza off the ceiling." Sometimes it takes writing it all out or somebody just telling you to realize how ridiculous your expectations are. So, today, I'm telling you:
I'm not suggesting you sit around and eat bon-bons all week. I mean if you need a day of bon-bons, go for it, but then get back up, get some realistic expectations and start living your life!
Let's meet back here next week and figure out where we need to give ourselves some grace. Comment below with the things in your life that are overwhelming you right now.
