Many Plates

It seems life is a cycle in so many areas. There are biological cycles, spiritual cycles, emotional cycles, workload cycles, parenting cycles, you name it. Sometimes life is so hectic there is no room to breathe. As a general rule, I try to not let my life get that way. When I was growing up, there was a period of a few years where we were always running on that hamster wheel. I don't want to slide into that as a mom. There are also cycles where nothing is going on and I go bored out of my mind from the monotony of days on end at home with nothing to do but clean and cook.

I am on the spin cycle right now. So much to do and not enough time in which to do it! But you know what's cool? Everything...well, almost everything...is something that is of great value in my life and the lives of others. And for once I'm actually looking forward to a few weeks in the fast lane. So here's my list. And this is more for me than for you, simply because I need to verbalize it all so it will seem more manageable.

1. Clean the house. Doesn't this one always need to be done? I have 4 baskets of unfolded clean laundry, 3 baskets of dirty laundry, and house-wide unvacuumed floors needing my attention. Add to that 2 bathrooms that haven't been cleaned since mid-June and sheets on 3 beds that need to be changed and I have a full plate for tomorrow.

2. Prepare the 2 extra bedrooms. Matt's mom and youngest sister, Debbie, are arriving from Spokane tomorrow night. Mom is staying for a week, give or take a few days, and Debbie is the new permanent resident of our household! She's starting nursing school here in Arkansas in a few weeks! We're super excited that she's moving in with us, and very much looking forward to Grandma's visit. But their bedrooms, especially Deb's, need to be readied. That includes packing up Pepper's nursery (sob sob), and painting over the bright pink walls in Snapper's old room. And no, it can't wait. When Grandma goes home, that room will be used for guests and school.

3. Schedule my volunteers for Life Change's staff conference at the end of this month. I'm in charge of set-up and clean-up for the childcare at this 2-day event. I have about 20 volunteers to work with so we're sure all shifts are covered. This really needed to be finished like 2 weeks ago, so I'm behind on that. Bad me.

4. It's our monthly prayer letter time again. Matt will do all the printing, envelope stuffing, stamping, and mailing. I just need to write the newsletter. Piece of cake, right?

5. During the summer our church does a monthly night out for the ladies of the church. It is an opportunity to build and maintain friendships in a quickly-growing church, as well as a chance for ladies to bring their unchurched friends to a non-threatening event. I'm on the leadership committee for women's ministry. My part of these summer get-togethers is preparing the invitations. I have 3 wonderful ladies who I work with on this. I need to have the August invitations ready to go in 3 weeks. There are 300 to make.

6. And here's the biggie--Snapper starts 1st grade in 5 weeks. I have done some planning, but not enough. I have ordered her curriculum and expect it within a few days. The Language Arts curriculum we are using is pretty involved and will require a lot of prep on my part. I am REALLY EXCITED! Snapper is so bright and eager to learn. I can hardly wait to see her take off with the amazing launguage skills that this curriculum will give her. It will be entirely worth the effort I will have to put in. But just a reminder, school starts in 5 weeks. So much to do, so much to do.

Okay, I have put each task in its own little box. Now I can relax and tackle each one without feeling overwhelmed. I hope you're having a good day, and that your hamster wheel is not spinning faster than you can run.