Exploring Options and Partial Solutions
It was Jason that made me laugh earlier this week (not me making Jason laugh which is usually the case if I don't say so myself, Ahem.). We were sitting in the kitchen, hot as all get out (because no, we still don't have air conditioning because we are Frugal with a capital F; but do I have quotes from 3 A/C companies? well yes, I do).
Jason was acting out how he was feeling. So he stepped about six feet (because isn't that what it's all about these days? six feet?) back from the kitchen counter. And then he practically fell forward, stumbling, and grabbed onto the counter, hanging on for dear life. He said something like - "hey guys, we're here, we made it!".
It was the perfect representation of how our lives are these days. I found it so hilarious - I asked him to do it again - and he did. My only regret is that I didn't film it so that it would live on in perpetuity.
It seems the last few weeks have been super amazing on several fronts (not) and by the beginning of this week - it's all we could do. Laugh.To back up a bit, though, last Friday we found out about some changes with the plans for school for this Fall - and that's when all hope was lost for what I wanted my Fall to be like. Sweet Fall. My fav time of year. Pumpkin spice, perfect temps, a quiet home. Fall.
As a delayed processor - it wasn't until Sunday that I hit the peak of my freak out - you *might* have been able to find me at the Barnes & Nobles on Colorado Blvd in Denver - power walking between the Self-Help section and the Christian Living section and then back to the help desk. Looking for books on homeschooling, books on how to work through resentment and anger toward the people that live in my house, books on moving to a deserted island all. by. myself.
Well, fast forward to today and I am clinging to this verse -
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here." -
2 Corinthians 5:17
(So listen, I am no Bible expert, m'kay? I do know, however, that Paul was talking to the people of Corinth about shedding their old ways and stepping into the new because of their new life in Christ. I ALSO believe that the Bible is living and God might be speaking to me about shedding my old ways of thinking pre-COVID and stepping into the new. {I might be way off base but it sure is helping me feel better about now.})
I talked about this not that long ago on the blog - you can read the post here and get a sense for what I am talking about as well as some practical tips for how to stay focused on what we can control. It's boundary work - college level.
I'm going to also offer up a couple of other strategies that I have been embracing this week.
Exploring All Options
As I saw my Fall dreams come crashing down, while reading the email from the school district on Friday (can I just say that even that shows the amount of power I am giving the school district over me?! Not anymore - I am taking it back!) - I realized anew that the next 6 months (+) weren't going to look like what I wanted them to.
So I decided it was time to get curious and explore what my options were. I'm still in this phase - and it's actually been kinda fun to step back and think about what our options are. Jason and I talked about heading to Arizona, for instance, once it gets cold here and vacationing for a month or so (assuming the boys will be doing some sort of remote learning or home schooling).
I'm looking at my work and what I love as well as what I feel like I can pass up simply because time management is going to be vitally important.
I've been asking some other writers recently what strategies they use to get writing done and am even using one of the strategies right now as I type that a friend told me about just this morning.
Partial Solutions
This is a concept that I was first introduced to by devouring this gal's content via her website, podcast and books. I love the idea, maybe especially because I am a One on the Enneagram and sometimes make a mistake by looking for the perfect solution. Eeks!
I am realizing just in the last couple of weeks that I really need to embrace partial solutions - not only to maintain my sanity but to also give me hope. Embracing partial solutions actually makes me feel like I can breathe - it gives me freedom.
So my boys might be here with me more and thus I won't be able to have that alone time I so desperately need. One partial solution is for Jason and I to divide and conquer. On the weekend - he could take 3-4 hours away; and then I could take 3-4 hours away. Perfect? No. I'd rather be with Jason (I mean, most of the time, I'd rather be with Jason). But it's a partial solution to the issue of needing some space.
In the monthly letter I send out toward the beginning of each month (or honestly, whenever I can during the month! bahaha!) - I will share some questions that I am using to help me explore even more. If you haven't signed up for that letter - you can do that here.I would so so so so love to hear your thoughts. I make an effort to respond to each of you and I know that your input helps a lot of women out there feel less alone.
xo - Shelley