I've had many normal weeks. You can imagine our schedule - daily school, bus stops, grocery trips, meals planned and cooked, budget conversations, laundry, cleaning and the list goes on and on. But this week, I was full of questions. Questions about my purpose mostly. Who am I? Who do I want to be? How will I get there? I've been so anxious all week - not in a bad way, but anxious for answers. I've had to calm myself down. I've had to breathe deeper. I've had to slow down. I've had to realize that this normal week created abnormal opportunities for growth.
Friday was a great example. Actually, it started on Thursday late afternoon. I looked outside and noticed that our pool pump was not working. For all of our non-pool-owning-readers, this gave me that sinking $$$ feeling in my gut...I immediately made the call to get a technician out and they could either come Friday morning at 8am or next week...so I took the Friday morning without too much hesitation.
I remember I was getting clothes out of the dryer on Friday morning when Dave came in to tell me goodbye and I broke down. How am I going to get everything done by myself this morning. Bus with Edwin (assuming I can get him awake, fed and dressed in time) at 7:40am, pool service 8:00am, Lyla to school at 8:45am. Writing it down makes it seem more feasible than it did in my head that morning. I was consumed with anxiety and fear that I was going to let someone down. Either I wouldn't get Edwin to the bus or I wouldn't be able to get Lyla to school on time - and I forgot to mention that she was line leader on Friday and I promised we'd make her class fresh chocolate chip muffins for the snack - so baking had to fit in the schedule too. Or perhaps I wouldn't be there when the technician arrived and he would leave without fixing the pump.
Or...or...or...or...do you see the pattern? So normal to go down this path of what ifs. So normal to feel like a failure before you even attempt to be a success. So normal to know that you can't do everything. So normal to try to be everything to everyone and realize that you're one person. But, just when things seemed so normal and I started down this normal path - I stopped and realized I'm not alone. What ifs don't get us to why nots. I may only be one physical body - but I have a team of support in every situation...from God in my heart to a husband that believes I can move mountains to kids that think I'm superhuman 99% of the time. I was able to back up and choose a different path at that moment. I slowed myself down. I prayed for assistance and acceptance...and guess what - everything got done. Edwin made the bus. Our pump motor ended up having to be replaced, but was mostly covered by our warranty. Lyla's muffins made the whole house smell delicious. Lyla made it to school and was overly excited to be line leader for the day. Point? Nothing is or has to be normal. Turn it around. Choose to make it something new. Why not?
Another beautiful thing happened on Friday. Since our morning had been so rushed and Fridays are generally my day to hang out with Louie, I decided that we would go to Starbucks and get a treat to celebrate getting everything done. Louie was excited - he is addicted to cake pops and knew that I'd cave to his lashes and get him one as a post breakfast snack. However, as we drove toward Starbucks, he asked if he could get his friend Harrison a balloon. As background, Harrison is one of Louie's favorite friends and he had been sick all week - missing school. We drive past Harrison's neighborhood on the way to Starbucks and as we did, Louie made his request. I asked if he'd rather do that than go to get our treat and without hesitation he said YES. I had to ask several times because I couldn't believe it. What 2-year-old do you know that would 1) make this request and 2) turn down a cake pop to make someone feel better? As you can imagine, I wept - quietly from the front seat, so that he wouldn't think I was sad. What a lesson and I thank God for using my little man to teach me. See, nothing is normal. As we left the balloon and cookies on the porch for Harrison and his family, I was so inspired. Everything is normal about putting other people first - especially in my life as a mom, wife, daughter, friend...but nothing is normal when God uses the typical to put your heart back together and show you how extraordinary you really are.
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