This changes everything...

Every day I have a plan.  I make a list of the things I want to accomplish for the week and then keep adding to it.  Oh, I am a list making fool.  This is something I have done for as long as I can remember.  It's true. Ask my brother, who used to laugh at me because "get up" was always on my list.  OK.  So I really liked checking things off the list.  Now I have to write everything down or I will just forget it.  Andddd....I still like checking things off.

I have been WAY off schedule for the last week because we had a snow storm.  I mean, it was a snow storm for Richmond.  I had 2 glorious days off and then 2 more days that the kids were off.  It's amazing how a little thing like that gets your whole life off-kilter.  I had my list.  I had my plan.  Then we got 7 inches of snow.  And I said, "Well, this changes everything!".  And it did.

Sometimes our 'this changes everything' moments are good things, like snowstorms (ok, good for teachers and kids!) or a promotion.  Sometimes those moments are not so good things, like a major appliance dying at the worst possible time or getting laid off.  We need to be flexible, whether we want to be or not.  Because life can only be planned so much.  You can plan yourself to death but you need to realize you cannot control things.  God is in control and we are on one of those amusement park race car tracks where you pretend your are driving, but you're not really.  All you are doing is pushing on the gas pedal to make the thing go.

It's great to check things off our list.  But let's not kill ourselves, or worse, beat ourselves up over the things we don't get done.  Many times, we moms out there can't ever cut ourselves some slack.  Work too much, feel guilty for not spending more time with the kids.  Goof off with the kids, feel guilty the house needs cleaning.  Sometimes we just need to recognize that this is not the way our day was meant to go.  And that is okay.

I did a few things that I 'should do' on my snow days.  Some laundry got done.  Dinner got made.  But on that first "this changes everything" day, I made a new list.  This list had things on it that are never on any list...watch "Sound of Music" with my kids.  Make a puzzle.  Play outside in the snow. Make hot chocolate.  We had the best time making the list.  Why write these things down?  We wanted to make sure they got done.  And if they didn't?  Oh well ...we sure had fun planning it.

God makes things happen for a reason.  Some of us can take subtle hints (by us, I mean you guys).  Some of us God has to knock upside the head with a brick (by us, I mean me).  When things don't go according to plan, maybe there is a message.  Maybe we are being kept safe.  Maybe we are being told to change directions.  Maybe we are being told to slow. Down.

I am a really organized person.  I have a budget, a menu and a plan for every day.  But I also know when someone says "Who wants to sit on the couch and watch Godzilla movies all day?" on a Saturday morning, I am in. Because that, to me, sounds like an awesome plan.

Sometimes, you really need to go with Plan B~
K