What happened to my week? I just don’t understand where the days went…
This week looked like it was going to be easy and light, which is unusual, so I was looking forward to it. I was assigned to jury duty for the first time in more than twenty years as a registered voter. Guess I’ve been lucky. In any case, I had to block my schedule in the office and rearrange my hospital duty so I could be at court, so I figured I might as well make the most of it. I had a list of work to do and the courthouse had wifi, so I brought reading books and notebooks, schedules and my computer. I think I was the only potential juror who walked into the building with two tote bags!
It was a lot of waiting around and lining up walking back and forth to the courtroom. My group was large and our trial was criminal and of an inflammatory nature, so the jury selection took more time than usual. Eventually though, I was dismissed and was free to return to regular life.
The good news was, I had been pretty productive while I was sitting around! With the exception of losing my connection to the outside world when they made us turn our phone off in the courtroom, I worked out the August schedule, made appointments, answered emails, researched projects, and finally ordered my replacement earpieces for my stethoscope. Check, check, and check!
When I got home from court, I found out from my husband that the oldest three kids had been stealing candy from their dad and me and lying about it. There were conversations and confessions, consequences and tears. It hurt me to see my babies practice lying and stealing, but I know they have to develop character. They’re not just born with it! So we keep guiding them along, correcting and teaching. It’s exhausting though!
The next day I was back at the office. I had closed my schedule and wasn’t expected back, so I helped out where I could. But on a day that wasn’t packed with back to back patients, even running errands at lunch, I still didn’t get done and leave the office on time. I slid into the garage at the last minute and then hustled to eat and get ready to get us out the door to midweek church. I think I heard a stopwatch…
Thursday I got up with a list of to-dos a mile long. The Mother’s Day gifts and cards had to be signed by everyone and put in the mail, I had plants to get in the garden, I needed to buy gifts for Nurse’s week and stop at the grocery store, my big girl had her first chiropractic adjustment scheduled, and our neighborhood is having a yard sale this weekend and we missed it last year. There is a lot of stuff that we could sell in this house, and this seemed like the opportunity! I was off this Friday, so it should be perfect timing, right? Not so much.
When I looked up, it was 2 pm and I hadn’t pulled out one thing to sell at the yard sale. I ran downstairs to the storage room and kitchen and saw lots of potential items to sell, but I got overwhelmed thinking about hauling all that stuff upstairs. And, I had no idea how to price any of it! I tried to talk to Perry about it, to see if he could help me pull together a plan, but he was socked into his work. Auntie A was planning to be out later in the evening, so I was out of options. I threw up my hands and took a 45 minute nap before conferencing with my nurse manager on the drive to the chiropractor.
This is my life. I don’t know sometimes whether to laugh or cry. Do you ever feel that way? Life is good, but it’s staggeringly busy and I’m not sure that I can keep up (and keep my sanity!). This normal crazy hectic life sometimes feels like the tilt-a-whirl at the fair- and I just want to get off. I dream of peaceful retreats and sleeping in (what’s that?) and silence. But I know that one day the kids will be gone and I’ll miss the sound and fury of them being around. And at any moment, some tragedy could happen and I’d miss the ordinary everyday annoyances.
Will we get the yard sale done? I don’t know. It’s looking unlikely, so maybe next year. But for now, I am holding onto the moment now and remembering, it’s a good life. Even when it’s not fun or happy or easy, it will pass. There is good in this moment. And this one too. And then I breathe in (and out), and take in the next moment.
What about you? Do you forget to enjoy the moment? How do you slow down? Please share in the comments below!