Right This Minute

I am writing this from my quiet, clean living room. That's right. It's quiet. Teancom has decided to pick back up the habit of napping in the afternoons. I have no objections to this. It means that for a few hours in the afternoon, I can pretend that my house is always this blissfully stoic.

Course I wouldn't ALWAYS want the house this quiet and clean. That would mean I would have no kids and no life. Hurray for noise and messes!

Right this very minute I am feeling accomplished and peaceful.

- We're back on track with our Dave Ramsey budget (we didn't do it all summer cause we were on vacation and such), and it's empowering. All our bills are paid and we have extra in our bank account.

- Rob has a job that keeps us living well, and he's applying for a new job next fall. There's a lot of hope and expectation there.

- I have figured out how to manage my time better. Rob is working all day Tuesdays and Thursdays. I've said "all day" before, but I mean it this time. Rob leaves in the morning and doesn't get home until 10pm on Tuesday and 8:15pm on Thursday. It's worth it for him, and it's empowering for me. I can manage dinner, homework, soccer practices, and bedtime just fine on my own, thank you. Because of all that, I'm figuring out how to do the right things at the right time. I HATE doing the right things at the right time. But it's so much more ... efficient. (Ugh, I despise that word.)

- I'm finding my way to a more peaceful personal place. A few months ago it just struck me that where I was in my life was NOT good enough any more. I had to step up and stop slacking off. Bummer, cause I like slacking off. But it's so much nicer to have let go of emotional gunk that I didn't need in the first place. I didn't realize I had so much of it, actually, until I started looking for it.

- I'm building better relationships with my children, particularly with Miciah. Miciah is the one that tends to rub me the wrong way and I come down harder on her than I should. She's just so mature that when she does something I disapprove of, it seems like it would be SO EASY for her to change it. Nevermind that she's 7. I forget that in the moment.

- Related to the last point few points, I'm getting much better at bedtime. I've never done real well with bedtime. By then I'm exhausted and I have very little left to give my kids. So Rob has done bedtime. Well, when he's not home, I HAVE to do it. Which, again, is empowering. If I have to do it, then I'll do it right. I have found patience (generally) and endurance, and I've made bedtime a special time. I actually look forward to it now. I read books to the boys, having Elijah read some of the small words (we're working on a, and, the, I, and see). Then they go to sleep while I read The Hobbit to Miciah. The idea came to me in a moment, and it's been a great relationship-builder. It's time that's just ours, and she LOVES it. I love it, too.

- I've started keeping a To Do list. I haven't had one for years and years. Cause trying to keep a To Do list with little kids was just depressing. At the end of the day, there were still as many things on the list as there had been in the morning. Depressing. But now I can actually get things done. It's amazing how much easier it is than I thought it would be.

- I'm volunteering for more, and taking on more in my life. Occasionally I still feel like screaming about this. Not cause it's stressful, just cause I like to be lazy. But it's empowering (yes, I did just use that word AGAIN).

All in all, right now life is good. I'll take a few more minutes like this.