Continuing the Journey

A Busy Weekend...and Some Tough Decisions...

Last night, Daddy really wanted to watch football on TV, Meggie and I wanted to watch a movie, and Carson was dying to watch his Batman cartoons on DVD. How to accomplish that and make us all happy? It took a bit of creativity...and a fort!

Meggie and I went into the office and watched our movie on the laptop while she did homework and I worked on paperwork and bills. Daddy wanted the big screen for the game (of course), so I figured out a way to give him and Carson what they wanted...and allow them both to hang out in the family room. With a blanket and a couple of stools, Daddy and I built him a fort...which he called his "bat cave"...
...and he loved the fact that he got to watch his cartoons on his own personal DVD player, with no interruptions!
Add a snack and you've got a happy Little Man!
Tonight, Meggie had another dance competition. Luckily, this one was local so it didn't put a huge cramp in our schedule. This was the team's first time competing in hip hop...while I don't like (or even understand) the outfits they wear...
...the jackets they had made for the team ARE pretty cool!
This competition had more cheer teams than hip hop teams, so it was a good chance to "get their feet wet" in this new type of dance. Despite the lack of any real competition, the girls did a GREAT job and really impressed the crowd on their first time out. That's right...another FIRST PLACE!!! I asked Meggie if she was tired of winning at EVERY competition...
...she is definitely NOT!!

We all have busy lives...especially those of us who have young children...and we have decided as a family that if something stops being fun or stops having a positive impact on our family, then it must GO! This week, after the stress of hectic schedules put both Meggie and I over the edge, Daddy and I had a meeting and made some decisions.

We had signed Carson up for AWANA at Church on Wednesdays and we decided it had to go. Besides the challenge of working with him on memory verses (memory verses that he HATED to learn and really fought us about), we got reports back that his behavior on Wednesday evenings was...well, less than stellar. When we told the AWANA leader that he was pulling out, she chuckled and agreed that it was a bit too much for him. Since he spends all day in school, where he is expected to listen and follow the rules of the classroom, it seemed kinda cruel to force it on him in the evenings, as well. Seemed like that time might be better spent riding his bike or playing soccer with Daddy in the backyard. Maybe we'll try AWANA again next year.

Tonight, as I sat in the bleachers at Meggie's competition frantically working on my "homework" for a Bible study I'm taking, it occurred to me that I was sacrificing my "Meggie time"...and I just don't want to do that right now. So I decided that I'm going to drop the Bible study since the stress of keeping up with that and everything else in my life is getting to be too much. I'll have plenty of time for Bible studies when my kids are gone...right now, I'm spending my free time with them.

Having always been an overachiever and one who works very hard to keep up appearances of doing everything well, it is tough for me to admit I can't handle everything on my plate right now. (Those who have already conquered this in their lives, I salute you!) But my uncontrolled crying fit in the bathroom during choir practice Wednesday evening was a huge wake-up call. I need to stop worrying what others want and simply make the decisions that work best for me and my family.

Sounds great in theory. Think I can actually DO that?!?!