My life has changed considerably in the last three months. I went from full-time ministry to part-time seasonal ministry. I went from being super pregnant to being a mostly stay-at-home-mom.
The day to day picture of my life has changed dramatically. Every day was an adventure, full of work, prayer, meetings, coffee dates, hormonal teenagers, and happy hour with friends. The weekends were for sleeping in and getting a weeks worth of chores and TV crammed into a weekend, that is, if I was even home for the weekend. Most weekends were spent on retreats, celebrating weddings or baptisms, or running races.
Now, my days are filled with laundry, diapers, spit up, pediatrician visits, pumping, washing bottles, pushing a stroller, and if I am lucky, a shower.
I used to save all my laundry for a week or ten days. I used to save all my cleaning for once every six weeks. I used to save all my shopping for a day I felt like playing hooky from work. I used to put the dishes away once every few days. I used to pile up papers to file once a month, or two. I used to crash diet instead of lifestyle change. I used to splurge all my money and panic when there wasn't any left for bills. I used to procrastinate big projects until I could complete them in one sitting, get bored and never finish them.
When I look back on 2011 one of our biggest accomplishments was paying off our debt and saving 6 months of living expenses incase of emergency. The most important lesson for me in all of that was to take things one step at a time. One day at a time. One decision at a time.
So, 2012, I resolve to take you One Step At A Time.
This means...
...putting away the dishes when they're dry
...doing a load of laundry as soon as one is ready
...cleaning a toilet or a sink when I have a quick minute
...running an errand when Evie is sleeping in her carseat and won't know the difference
...filing and dealing with paperwork when it comes in the house (or preventing it from doing so!)
...donating that ill fitting shirt I find in the back of my closet when I put my hands on it
...making healthy food choices at each meal or snack
...sneaking in a long walk or a few sit ups when I think about it
...putting my shoes away when I walk in the house
...keeping a place for everything, and everything in it's place...every time!
...tackling big projects in little steps so I don't get bored
My theme song for this year is obviously Jordin Sparks "One Step at a Time" (you know you secretly love it, too)
Here's to a new me!
I must admit, I've used my girl Jordin on a running play list or two :)
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