A Simple Saturday

Wouldn't it be great if we could all adopt a new viewpoint about the days of the week? I have been thinking about this a little bit today and this is what I have come up with so far:

• Amazing Monday
• Terrific Tuesday
• Winning Wednesdays
• Thoughtful Thursday
• Fun Friday
• Simple Saturday
• Sensational Sunday

What if we had a completely different viewpoint of each day of the week? Most people in our society only really appreciate Friday Night through Sunday evening, never looking forward to the five days in between. Somehow I don't think this is living life to the fullest. Not if we only trudge through the weekdays to get to the weekends. I think this goes along with the mindset of creating a life you love.

Lets dream a little bit about what a Simple Saturday would look like in a perfect world. I am sure that each of us would have a completely different vision for this day, which would often change depending on the season that you are in. For me, a simple Saturday would have some similar attributes.

1. Slower
2. Relaxing
3. Easy
4. Friendly
5. Pleasant
6. Creative
7. Enjoyable

I sit here and chuckle to myself just a little bit because in my "real" city life it's very hectic on the weekends. They absolutely fly by, jam packed with a plethora of child based activities. Realistically, the chances of us not being in a constant monsoon of activities is unlikely for several more years yet. I desire to make it my JOB to infuse my Saturday's with the above attributes. I long for a simple Saturday in which I can just live.

Is it possible to meet all seven of these goals realistically? Lets take a look at what a "typical" Saturday in the late winter and early spring looks like. Wake up, grab a cup of coffee while throwing a multitude of drinks and snacks into a bag or cooler, yelling and the princesses to hurry up and get themselves ready, encourage the toddler to eat a little quicker, grab diapers and baby "stuff" for a few hours of being out of the house, run to the car to check if the lawn chairs and stroller are accounted for, double check the soccer blankets, soccer balls, Ergo carrier. Run back inside and grab a second layer of clothing, umbrella, sunscreen, waterbottles. Top off the coffee, grab the kids and race out the door. Once you get in the car and everyone in seat belts, throw protein bars at all your children while discussing what field you are supposed to be on. Turn on the radio and pray that you get the kids to the field on time because you have been late to the previous 2 games.

After the game or games if you have more than one child, every one piles back into the car. Maybe I should think about what's for lunch? What's for dinner? I need more coffee. Good game. Did you have fun? Are you enjoying yourself? What was the best part?

After traveling a minimum of an hour you arrive home. Tired, hungry and windblown. Everyone wants fed. The baby needs a bath. The teens want to change their clothes and plan for another activity. Husband needs your help. The coffee pot is empty, your nerves are shot, the baby is fussy and you still don't know what is for lunch or dinner.

Stop... Just stop right there. I cannot tell you how many of my weekends have been spent in this cycle of craziness. That is NOT a simple Saturday. That is not any of the attributes that I yearn for.

My girls will continue to play soccer until they both graduate. I need a better plan. In the spring, they travel quite extensively. Sometimes we have two or three days in a row like this. I won't even go into what life was like when I had three playing soccer and two playing football, two doing track, one in basketball, one playing baseball...

In order to have a Simple Saturday you MUST plan better for it. Over the years we have made great strides to have a better handle on how the day will turn out. Dinner in the crockpot, everyone get up an hour early, the car has gas, diaper bags, soccer bags and equipment packed and by the door. Thermo's are filled to capacity. Lunches packed into a small cooler. Encouraging music streaming through the speakers. Bellies full of a nice hot breakfast. Plans made AHEAD of time for evening activities. House clean and organized so everything can get accessed at a moments notice (like last minute walking out the door). Does this happen all the time? No. We are still a work in progress. This is something that we will strive more to have in place with the new move. Actually, it will be imperative since we are moving an additional hour out both ways.

I have been playing around with how to change our landing zones and to go areas. I think that by setting up these stations we all could be a little less stressed about what is where and what is missing. I have combed Pinterest a lot and have a nice little board of great hacks I'd like to put in place. There is a lot I have learned from the Flylady over the years about zones and being prepared. This was a blessing to a mom who always seems to be a day or two behind-ALWAYS!

One of the best things about Simple Saturdays? Summer time. Weekends without games or activities. Those moments I look forward to as well. Ditching the obligations of organized activities and just living life. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

I leave you all with a quick update about the upcoming move. We were supposed to close in 3 days. That isn't going to happen now. It could be 5- 12 days from now. We are all pretty much living out of boxes and suitcases at this point. We still can't schedule the movers because these people don't feel it's important to give us an actual close date. Life has been full of surprises these last few days and it's all I can do to smile and count it all joy.

Only 15 minutes?

A while back I think God was preparing me for the journey I was about to embark on. Hindsight being 20/20, I think I can say that with some confidence.
A couple weeks before Christmas of last year I was constantly being prompted to make some time in my busy schedule to take charge of my life and my activities. Mostly, the kids' activities.
Along comes a sweet little website called the Flylady. The day after Christmas I dedicated my life to becoming a flybaby. Now, before you get the idea in your head that I was some kind of compulsive hoarder please understand, I am naturally an organized person. Yet some way, some how, the burdens of this life had become too much and I was spiraling out of control. In fact, I was getting so desperate I was willing to try anything.

So 15 minutes at a time sounded reasonable. After all, I seldom had more than 15 minutes of free time in my day. This proved to be a perfect solution for me. I immediately ran off to Target to get a kitchen timer.

With in 2 weeks I felt I was back in control of my house. My schedule actually had more than 15 minutes in it when I took ownership of my time and started saying "no". When I came across a little saying, I knew immediately I had to put it up on my 8 foot dry erase board as a reminder. "Stop saying yes to what God is saying no to". Surprisingly enough, it became easier as the weeks went by.

So here I am on this cloud of reclaiming some sort of normal and less confused life when out of nowhere my son gets sick and we end up being hospitalized (I will at some point share this very tragic story). Talk about a screeching halt! LIFE STOPPED. The day before we began our hospital journey I mentioned to a friend that if one more thing was added to my plate, my house of cards would collapse. And it did. Quickly.

Here is really where the rubber meets the road. Ever tried to run your household for over a month when you don't dare leave your son's side? Ever try to run a business when you can't think of anything more than if your son will live through that day? How about educating your home schooled children? Sports events? Team mom responsibilities? Tutoring? Carpooling? Even the act of paying bills completely stressed me out.

Good thing the Lumber Jack was a solid rock for me. How he held us together is way beyond my comprehension. One thing I can tell you though, is that because I spent 15 minutes at a time, several times everyday, we were able to function with only the stress from our son's health crisis.

I realized then just how important what I had committed myself to doing was for my family.

Now, after coming through this crisis I am in "make up" mode. That means I almost get to start from scratch again.

Welcome to my journey. Since you are new too, won't you follow along with me and both of us can reclaim some ground? Do you have a sincere desire to do everything in  your life excellently? Is there something deep within you that says you can have an orderly life that is well pleasing to your help mate and family? If you are brave enough to just try 15 minutes at a time, I promise you that it will be worth every minute!

Welcome to my journey~
Jenn