five minute friday : BREAK

So the prompt word is BREAK.  What do I do with this word?  I've got 5 minutes to try to do it.  It's an overwhelming word.  So much content,  lots of directions I could go with it.  I feel a bit overwhelmed.  I wish I would have looked it up this morning & had a walk with the dogs to mull it over.  But,  I'm in bed with 2 hours before this Friday is over & I want to blog.  But BREAK?  really?

My first thought when I saw it,  "yeah,  right... I took a break from blogging"  but then I got even more bleak & thought,  " I took a break from life".  Nope,  that's not the direction,  I want my thoughts or this blog to go.

Then,  I thought about my coworker, (I need to go over my blogs & see if I gave her a nickname).  She has 2 breaks in her tibia.  She fell & broke both elbows.  Yup,  ouch... nope,  that's not the kind of break either that I want to blog about.

Ha... timer up,  I guess,  I don't really have to write about it now.  I've accomplished my goal.  I've blogged.  Yup,  no real substance & that disappoints me a bit,  but I'm moving on. I'm going forward.  I will revisit this word after I've ponder.....

Time to change the sheets

I'm waiting for my bed sheets to come out of the dryer.  Usually,  I hang the sheets because I love the smell of sunshine that lingers after you take them down. The kids laugh with me as I inhale deeply & say "smell that sunshine".   I know it's not the smell of sunshine but of dried cotton (or percale,  I'm not sure what my sheets are made of).  But to me,  it's the smell of sunshine,  outdoor freshness & good memories of my childhood when I would hang sheets with my Aunty Ben.  

 Alas it's winter now & that means flannel sheets.  It means that there is still ice outside & the rain from last night has made lots of mud underneath my clothesline. It means putting the bedsheets in the dryer with a smelly thing that advertises to be outdoor fresh.

But my bedsheets or smell of sunshine isn't really what I wanted to write about... as I was walking the dogs this morning,  (see I told you I do my blog thinking while I walk them),  I was thinking about what i needed to get done today.  And it's not Thurs so I can't do the sheets.  Baby Girl had a memory at the dinner table the other day of taking her bedsheets & stuffing it into the pillowcase & tossing the bag over her shoulder & singing "hi ho, hi ho,  it's off to work we go" & how it they would do it every Thurs.  It was the routine.  And now the topic of this blog came into my thoughts.

In moving forward,  sometimes you have to get out of your routine.  When you are stuck & tangled,  you have to change & do something different so that you can move forward.  But sometimes,  you just have to get back into the routine.  I'm probably going to have to come back to these thoughts.  There is alot to ponder.

As Paul Harvey would say... "now, for the rest of the story.."

Doing the 5 minute friday was fun.  Actually,  doing this whole 31 day challenge has been fun.  I think it's because I chose to not make it all that deep & thought provoking.  I chose to keep it light & not so vulnerable. 

I surprised myself with what I wrote yesterday.  Most of my posts for the challenge have been from the top of my head not so much from the recesses of my heart.  But yesterday,  I delved into a memory.  And it has me reflecting.

I didn't get a chance to finish my story because the timer went off.  The comments reflected that they didn't know the rest of the story.... as Paul Harvey would say... & to answer the question from one of the comments : Yes,  my whole life has been a dare.  And it has been worth it.

I started this blog to help me process my "new normal" of journeying without the big dare of my life,  my husband.  He died on March 23,  2010;  leaving me with 4 wonderful blessings who needed their Daddy & a mountain of decisions.  I dared to move them to an area which meant they were closer to their Dad's roots & could know him more from relatives & how he was brought up.  But also meant that I was moving away from my own solid support of family, church & school. And I continue to dare to press on. 

As we wind down to the end of this challenge,  I've been wondering what I will incorporate into my blog.  I want to keep the consistency.  I want to continue learning about blogging.  But I want to go back to writing from my heart & not just my head.  I need to in order to become unstuck & untangled.  I want to keep pressing on.

Party cleaning

Yikes,  the party is this weekend! And after I got most of the outside cleaned up & flowers in the beds,  it's suppose to freeze tonight.... seriously... it's the middle of May & my friends in California are exclaiming about 100 degree weather for their zoo outings.  So,  we are going to have Plan B ready for this "open house" graduation party on Sunday.  That means that I'm in "stash & dash" mode to cleaning my house.  Nobody can enter my bedroom because that's where I'm putting the boxes that I've filled up from the front room & family room.

I had to work yesterday so I'm a day behind in getting things done.  Superstar wanted to help yesterday & offered to clean the front room.  But if we are going to "stash & dash" the piles that I have there,  I need to know what box they are in.  So,  I need to be the one who does it.  And I was so tired last night after picking up Chinese take out,  I just wanted to lay down.  I needed to be doing so much.... but alas,  it was NOT done but I did go to bed early & am feeling refresh today to whip this clutter house in order.... maybe...


My coworker said that all that mattered is if the bathroom was clean.  Yup,  that's done,  thankfully the kids keep this in order... even though the shelf has LOTS of hair products & curling irons & straighteners & bobby pins & ribbon &... SIGH,  I love my girls pretty hair.

Ok,  off the computer & GO CLEAN for this party.  Hmmm,  in my ponderings,  I'm wondering how many times I try to spiritually clean my heart thinking that someone "spiritual" is coming & seeing my outside.  I need to remember that God sees my heart ALL the time & I need to keep it clean ALL the time as I entertain my King

Spirit Week

This school year has certainly been different for my kids.  There have been many reasons,  but what I'd like to "untangle" from today is all the "spirit weeks"  they've been having. 

When I went to High School,  spirit week was usually held during homecoming football week.  It was anticipated with many plans of outfits wanting to outdo each other.  Since,  my son,  goes to a small private school without a football team,  they have spirit week on the last week of school.  This is met with much joy since they are required to wear uniforms (same red polo with navy pants or skirts) the whole year through.  I like seeing the creativity the kids put into their spirit week.



But this year has been different for my girls.   I think they have had at least 8 spirit weeks.  I would see them emerge from their room dressed in a disney character or in a tutu & wonder what the occasion was & their reply was that it was spirit week.  I have wondered aloud if the highschool thinks the students needed help knowing how to dress for the day & have received the "octave drop" Mah----(say it with dropping the octave & don't get caught rolling your eyes)--om.  I not sure what the theme of today was,  but I know my girls were not "into" it.  I heard them saying to each other,  that they didn't get the txt to dress up & that they didn't really care.

This reminds me of a story I read about a little boy wishing it was Christmas everyday.  He got his wish & every morning,  he'd wake up to find his Christmas stocking filled.  It was fine & even exciting at first,  but then,  he had too many toys & candy.  The music was annoying & he had enough Jingle Bells.  I can't remember if it stayed winter in the book.  But I can so relate to having too much of snow (it actually snowed where I live this past Wednesday... this year April didn't bring showers... but SNOW!).  I think the moral of the story was that sometimes you can have too much of a good thing & be careful what you wish for.

Two weeks ago,  I substituted for my Sunday School class of normally 7-10 women.  I had several different lessons planned,  but nothing really excited me.  We had a guest speaker preach & he talked about preparing our hearts for Jesus.  And as I was sitting in the pew,  I thought,  that would be a great topic for our class disscussion & I can learn how the ladies prepared their homes & families for the Easter season. 

Unfortunately,  another adult class didn't have their usual teacher show up & they dispersed to other classes.  Many of the husbands joined our circle.  This was not going to be a fluff discussion on decorations & recipe sharing (though my piano teacher did give me a recipe for resurrection cookies http://www.motherhoodonadime.com/kids/resurrection-cookies-printable-recipe/)

One of the men brought up that we need to prepare our hearts for Jesus everyday & we shouldn't wait just for the Easter season.  Oh,  we had a lively discussion that day because both sides were right.  Every day,  every hour,  EVERY moment,  our hearts need to be soften to Jesus & His leading.  We need to be grateful for His life & forgiveness ALL the time.  But,  we have chosen as a culture,  to celebrate His resurrection during this time of Easter. 

I grew up Catholic & it wasn't just Holy Week,  but 40 days of "spiritual outfitting".   It really didn't mean that much to me until I became a Christian.  It was more of a religious duty rather than a time of renewal.  And until I learn the meaning of the rituals,  it was tiresome. 

And so,  I've been pondering,  if we had Holy Week like the highschool has been having Spirit week throughout the year,  would it lose it significance?