Up early this morning, well, not real early, but plenty early enough after a long week. It seems like the frustrations of the day don’t waste a second before they jump on me. Actually, the frustrations of the week are still hanging on for the ride. I must be easy prey.   I started the day by flying out the door to a doctor’s appointment for one of the kids, it was actually a pleasant experience. In and out pretty quickly. I literally stopped at the front desk on the way out to thank them for the prompt service and offered to fill out a comment card. (I wanted to offer a hug, but I wasn’t sure how that would be received.) Feeling pretty confident that this day is on an upswing, I check that off my list. On to the next thing. I get home and am hit in the face with reality. Abbie’s car won’t start. (She lives in Mobile, just in Brewton for an overnight.) Jeff just left on a trip. Now, what do I do about the car? Call a wrecker, who do I call? What’s that number? Do they have a good reputation, do good work? How much will that be? She is supposed to be to work by what time? What is she going to drive? Who is going to give up a car for a few days? Will they be okay with that? When is that wrecker coming again? Christian is packing up to leave. Does he have everything he needs? Did he get all of his boxes out of the garage? Did he do all of his laundry? Is his car running okay? What time is dorm check in? Does he need help moving in? (Of course he does, you KNOW I’m going to be there to “help.” Meaning I want to get a good look at his new room, meet the new roommate. Check out the situation. And, I teasingly told him I was going to pass out his emergency contact numbers to all of his dorm neighbors and, of course, introduce myself. The look on his face after I said this was PRICELESS.) Has he ordered his books? Does he need any school supplies, we haven’t quite finished shopping for those. What about groceries, oh, that’s right, he can get those when he gets there. Will he make new friends? Will he meet up with the old? Wait, should I get him a lanyard for his room key? (I think I already know what his answer to this would be, but…) Does he know where all of his classes are? O goodness, what am I forgetting, I am sure there is something.   Travis will be starting school in a few days. Have I gotten him everything he needs? How can he possibly be in the eleventh grade?   Is he ready for the level of work required? It’s his first year driving himself, I hope he doesn’t run into anyone in the school parking lot, or worse, over someone!   Maybe I should drive him for the first few days, you know, just till he gets more comfortable. (Or maybe till I get more comfortable.) How many fund raisers are we doing for school related activities right now? What are we selling again? Where is the paperwork for that? I need to remember to get some small bills for lunch money, or should I have him take his lunch? If he takes his lunch, I need to go to the grocery store. Yeah, I can pick up some school supplies then. Is this tax free weekend? Wait, last time I went on tax free weekend I nearly witnessed two fights over trapper keepers. I’ll probably only save two dollars anyway. How many notebooks could we possibly need, maybe I’ll wait until next week to finish the school shopping.   Travis, you did what to your best school jeans? Hole in the knee, well, let’s put some tape on the underside to get us through the first day of school. No one will notice. (I don’t think, anyway.) The house is a mess. Dishes in the sink, floor needs vacuuming, plants need watering (they tend to need watering often, not sure if I’m the plant owner type, might be too much commitment.) Bathrooms need cleaning. Then there’s the laundry, and don’t even get me started on the pile on the dining room table. How in the world are we supposed to eat on it? (I honestly think we could get rid of half of our possessions and not even miss them.) The car needs gas, my car or someone’s car always needs gas. It’s two cents cheaper across town, so we’ll need to go over there. (That’s a little bit of Jeff Carlson, my husband, coming out in me. Gotta get the best deal, even if I only save  26 cents over  all, it’s the principal.)  And, just for the sake of complete transparency, I have boxes (plural, more than one) of pictures that need to be framed or put into photo albums. Anyone feeling the need to come over and help with this? You could think of it as mission work. The Lord and I would be so grateful!   It has been a long day, wait, it’s only 10am, it feels so much later. Can I run away now? The only problem is when I run, I take ME with me and I’m a large part of the problem. And did I mention, we haven’t quite finished the school shopping yet?

(To be continued…)

The Lord has been dealing with me about some things that need to change lately. He has a way of showing me things through circumstances to get my attention. The day above only gets more complex and difficult, but I will spare you the details. Tune in Thursday as the Lord shows me a deeper truth that was an “aha” moment for me. Talk to you then…