Reality Check Anyone? (Stream of Consciousness Thoughts for a Saturday Morning . . . )

Disclaimer: Read the whole thing before you form an opinion. Also, sarcasm. I know . . .

It took me five minutes to spell consciousness. I finally googled it. (Insert Face palm) I think my children are sucking the brain cells right out of my head. That’s a joke (sort of). You can laugh.

Thoughts running through my head on this chilly Saturday morning: My coffee is lukewarm. I don’t care. I can drink coffee anyway you want to throw it at me as long as it’s not super sweet. I kind of love coffee. I haven’t written in . . . two(ish) weeks??? I’m not actually going to go back and look because I don’t have the time or the energy in this moment. I have 45 other things that need to be done before noon. My whole family, our neighbors, and half the town had this awful cold two weeks ago . . . I thought I dodged it. My throat hurts. I do NOT have time for this. Pass the ibuprofen and Sudafed. My kids are 12 and 6. Who thought it was a good idea to have them spaced out so much? Oh yeah, that would be me. Our calendar is FULL . . . I’m tired next month. My Christmas decorations have been up for two weeks . . . yes, two weeks. That’s how we roll in our house. If I’m decorating for Christmas it’s going to be up at least a couple months. Also, I did it while I had time. Some mornings I read my bible, take notes, and pray. Some mornings I fly by the seat of my pants, read the scripture of the day on YouVersion, and pray while I’m driving. It is what it is. I burnt my forehead the other day . . . frying bacon.

You’re welcome for that last one.

I’m sure most of you can relate to all of this in some form or another. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s also, hands down, one of the busiest times of the year, and it’s easy to look up on New Year’s Day and realize Thanksgiving and Christmas and every day in between passed by in a blur of busy-ness and preparation and execution of all the things. All the meal planning and prepping. All the gift buying and giving. The visits with relatives. The parties and get togethers.

And I’m one of the worst. I’m a list maker and a checker offer (pardon the made up word), and while I wouldn’t say I don’t enjoy the holidays, I also tend to forget to soak them in . . . to really stop and take in the moments.

Yes, I have a lot of laundry . . . and dishes . . . and a million other things to do . . . but in college, when I had to trek to the laundry mat once a week, I realized what a privilege it is to own a washer and dryer, and I’m really thankful I don’t have to pass the time in a cold laundry room while my clothes dry.

My throat hurts. But it’s not terrible. That lukewarm coffee helped tremendously. 😉 And I’ll be 100% before I know it. In the meantime, I’m just super glad we can buy ibuprofen and Sudafed (even if I do have to pull out my driver’s license).

My kids will never be 12 and 6 again. There are no two people I’d rather have suck my brain cells out than these two. Yes, it can be hard making it to all their programs and parties and lunches and games. Yes, our calendar is FULL. But also, what a privilege. What a privilege to have places to be and friends and family to see. What a privilege to love these people of mine.

The Christmas decorations . . . I love them. I love how warm and cozy they make the house feel. I love how much my youngest loves them. She spent all of October asking when we were putting them up, and seeing the joy it all brings her makes my heart happy. She is 100% living her best Christmas life right now.

Then there’s my quiet time. Can I do better? Yes, I can, and I will always work toward that. But also, I serve a God who wants a relationship not perfection. He’s not sitting on His throne checking off whether or not I spent 15 minutes reading and 15 minutes praying. That’s not to say there is not immense value and importance in both, but He meets me in the early mornings when I have the time to really read and study and pray. And He meets me in the car when I’m dropping off kids and running errands and picking everyone up from school. He’s there for it all. And for that I’m immensely grateful.

And the burn on my forehead . . . well, I have bacon . . . and coffee . . . need I say more?

Enjoy your weekend everyone!