Monday Musings

Oh, the "busy" life. It's the modern ailment isn't it? Maybe it isn't just a modern problem. I saw a quote by Socrates (Socrates, btw, what a guy!! we read about him the other day in our history book. a post of its own right there!) the other day on Pinterest. "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." Oooh, I love that. Tis so true.

The stock response has got to be one of my biggest pet peeves. Forgive me if you use it. I love you, its just the phrase drives me nuts. You see someone that you genuinely love and ask "How have you been?" or "How are you?" The person responds, "Oh, busy." I smile and nod but really I'm thinking "Oh come on! I love you. Don't tell me that. I really want to know and "busy" tells me absolutely nothing." I suppose I loathe the common casual question "How are you?" for the same reason. I usually avoid even answering the question because chances are the person doesn't really want me to answer honestly. Why? Because they are busy and don't have the time to have a longer conversation.

Busyness.

So why do I rant to you all? I know you love me because you came to here to check in. Maybe your affection is more for seeing how our four kiddos are growing as of late. You came to see what our Wisconsin clan is up to.

And that is my rant. The seemingly insufficient funds when it comes to that rare commodity. Time. But it isn't a rant really. I just thought I'd open up my heart just crack for you all to peer into for a moment. Share the struggle in my heart. And I just know that 95 percent of you have the exact struggle as I do. I want to share that journey along with you. The other 5 percent of you are retired and probably don't share the same time frustration as the rest of us. You probably have a time frustration that I won't understand for another 30 years.

Time. The meaning of life. My purpose. The gifts given to me. Time. How I use it?

As I wash the dishes, fold the laundry, nurse the baby, do all these things I ponder these things. Over and over again. The fact that there are 24 hours in a day. 7 days in a week. I have all these things that are important to me. I actually have quite a simple life compared to many and intentionally do my best to keep it simple. I keep it simple to allow more margin in my time budget time. We are all on the same budget. I try to give the most important things in my life the largest segments of time. And, of course, those segments are time are given to my children. That is why I stay home with them. To give them large volumes of quality time.

But you loved ones are important too. I love each of you very much. This little space here is a way that I've found to love you. It seems like a small segment of time for how much you all mean to me. But it seems that finding that fraction of time to connect meaningfully with you all is becoming more and more difficult. And there lies my frustration. Frustration that there aren't enough minutes for all the things I'd like to do. One of them being with taking pictures of our life and sharing them with you.

I love to share my heart and mind with you. Things I find interesting, fun, or even thought-provoking. It's like an adult show-and-tell. I've got a number of things rolling around in this head of mine. I'd love to share. I suppose I tell you this as sort as an apology. I am quite sure you all are not offended in any way. It's me that is disappointed. Me and my woes about time management. I just want you all to know that I love you to pieces. Bear with me as I post just every now and then when I grab a moment. And perhaps at some point, I may get super efficient at budgeting my time. Or maybe not. In any case, I think I'll stay the course and post as I am able. I love it here. I love you and I love sharing our lives.

In the meantime, this blog will have to stay a little lower on the totem pole of priorities.

Oh yes, about "busyness." I forgot to go there. Oh, goodness. That's a blog post I'd like to write about too. The effort not to get caught up in the "busyness" whirlwind that seems to run our world. I don't want to step on that bandwagon. I do not want my life to be defined by busyness. Yes, my life is full to the brim with a number of wonderful things. But I will cease to appreciate those wonderful things if I am ever a slave to productivity and the menacing "to do list." It's a battle. To be efficient but also to be present.

That is why I LOVE that reminder from Socrates. BEWARE. Beware of the mind set on fast forward. The list of things to do taking over the mind and heart space. I want so much to actually LIVE this life. To take moments to breath it all again. To see my children clearly for all the wonder that surrounds them. To live in beauty and truth. To be awake and listening for that gentle voice of my Creator.

A busy life IS barren. Barren. What grows in barren soil? Nothing! I want that deep, rich soil of life. That kind of life is cultivated by a purposeful slowing down. My ponderings are often about that. How can I engage in this life of mine? A life is that FULL. How do I engage in my full life in a way that isn't franic, ie busy?

That is where my heart is much of the time. What about you? Is this a huge one for you? What is on your to do list? And how do you not let the 'to do' list become your master?

Anyhow, off to that 'to do' list. Clean up this lunch dishes, paint on that mural (wahoo! I'll have to show you), and reading/spelling with the boys. I am glad that I invested a little time here with you, loved ones. I hope it was coherent in some sense. A good editing probably won't happen. So forgive my mistakes.

Hugs!!


Oh, yes and lately. What are we up to? Doug took the day off Friday. He went to church, I went on a walk and then gathered groceries. In the afternoon we went to a hotel about 20 minutes away. GREAT FIND! A hotel 20 minutes away among the cornfields. A dazzling weekend away, huh? LOL. But really, a great idea. We will do it again! Good prices and great rooms. We had a nice room with a comfy king-sized bed in its own area. The room also included a sitting room with a fold-out couch and chairs. Very nice and spacious for a family. The kids loved spending some time in the pool. Very nice pool! I lounged by the pool in a beach chair with a good book and the baby. The good life!  The breakfast was excellent too. Check it out: The Comfort Suites.

The next day we got up and went to the maple syrup festival at the Mackenzie Outdoor Education Center. Another great find! We'll do that again as well. I will probably go again with just the kids and walk the trails there. It's getting warmer now, so that will be excellent. We'll make it a science day. :)

Sorry about the lousy quality and quantity of pics today.