This Is No Way To Mop a Floor....

Take a minute to picture the facts and circumstances that build up to this setting:

*I administrate the childrens classes at our church
Schedules and lesson planning are very much due for those classes, which is my job

*I am the home school teacher to 1 junior high girl and 2 high school girls
There are only 9 weeks of school left to finish out grades and subject content

*I am not a packrat but all of my family members are
Two days ago the girls felt it was time to finally overhaul their collective rooms

*I am not a packrat because when things are laid everywhere, I feel panicky and claustrophobic
Things to be gotten rid of are now wall to wall in the main part of the house

*We have company staying the weekend with us beginning tonight
See above

*My in-laws and our oldest daughter (with boyfriend in tow) will be here in 5 days
Still see above

*I am three months over due for a hair cut
I feel like the Shaggy DA

*I got up and took my friend to the airport at 4:30 this morning
An honor and privilege to do anytime

*The calendar has us with a fun full weekend in store with friends, classes, birthdays, and church


So there is the basic setting.
School was just getting started.
I was still in my grubbies because I chose to lay back down after returning from the airport instead of showering.
I reviewed the math lesson and then figured a cup of my newest vice (Chocolate Marshmallow Bunny Coffee with Hershey's Chocolate Caramel creamer) would hit the spot.

That is when I heard the noise...the hissing and spitting sound of running water forcing its way out of a pipe. The sound was coming from the laundry room. As I followed the noise, looking for the source, my socks became wet. The water was warm, snuggly warm.

"No please no," I muttered as I pulled the panel off of the water heater. "We have school to do, a car full of Goodwill stuff to drop off, a friend to pick up, rooms to still finish cleaning, a drum lesson, dinner...blah blah blah..." Relentlessly, unmercifully the water still poured. It didn't care that I had a schedule to keep.

I slapped off the power to the water heater on the electric panel and called my hubby. He had no phone service in the mountain pass he was driving in and couldn't take off of work anyway. So I called my dad. He came in a flash with tools in hand to be our knight in shinning armor. One quick look told him that the whole unit had seen its finer days of water regulating. After wrestling with it for hours, we found that none of the designated parts wanted to work in the way they were designed. Water came out of every opening possible except for the drain spout. We rotated towels through probably 30 gallons of water on the kitchen floor before the spout gave way to our authority.

So here I sit, sore arms from wringing towels, no water in which to shower with, 15 wet towels waiting for a turn in the machine, and a schedule to keep. I am okay really. I laugh in the face of adversity. Haa haa!

At least my kitchen floor is now mopped clean.

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(personal note: David at Authorblog honored me a 'blog of the day honorable mention' for this post. It is exciting!)

The Gears Are Turning...

I have had two major things doing circular cycles (hmmm that is redundant) in my head today. Sometimes old truths can be learned fresh and applied in our lives. Today has been one of those days. Here are 2 truths that I learned fresh on this day.

1) I spoke with a friend this evening that I hadn't had the pleasure of connecting with in a few months. Through our "catching up and re-connecting", I found that his life and the lives of those around him had not been going in the direction I had pictured all this time. The things I had learned were shocking and eye opening and grieved me that I had been so disconnected.
Truth: assumptions almost always mis-guide my perceptions.

2) Yesterday at a monthly leadership meeting, we discussed the guidelines for being an effective team. One point that was highlighted was the importance of being led by joy. We have all heard that we choose our emotions. We choose to be joyful or bitter. No one points a gun to our head and says, "You MUST be joyful/angry now!" It has been a rule that I have tried to live by for so long.....move on from a situation and don't dwell on it. Girl, choose to not let it rule you and be joyful in the moment.

The funny thing is that over time, some people have "counseled" me and said I am not being truthful to myself when I do that. Instead I must embrace hurt and pain for what it is and live in it for a bit. That has always felt uncomfortable to me...like a bad shoe. Why stop time and wallow in ick?

Instead of walking through that thought though, silly me, I would over-analyze myself. Am I fake? Why do I want to be happy? Am I not emotionally stable because I rob myself of holding onto junk? (I know, it is insane the conversations I get into in my head)
Truth: Don't let other people set my joy thermostat.

Yes We Really Did Volunteer....

Friday morning found the girls and I wearing our "race official" bright yellow t-shirts and getting syched out for a new adventure. Somehow, we had gotten ourselves sucked into volunteering for the 2007 Hood-2-Coast race. How did we get involved at all? Well, my husband, oldest daughter, son, and brother-in-law were all on a team together.

I must say it was an interesting experience. We worked section 2 just east of Rhodedendron where runner 2 hands off to runner 3. We worked the first 5 hours of the race so we were able to experience the very beginnings of the thrill and excitement. As we directed traffic and parking on highway 26 and tried to keep runners safe, we came across so many different kinds of people. There were the amatures who were pumped on the idea that they were actually doing it and there were the pros who expected everyone to get out of their royal way. There were people from other countries who didn't understand when I said, "get out off the highway and back on the shoulder before you become road kill". A few teams were upset that we would have the audacity to tell them where to park, but most people were grateful for our help....telling us thank you for putting up with all of the crazy people and even giving us little gifts.

I think the part that I had the hardest time with though were the people in charge of our section. One bragged to us about all of the cool stuff he was given as a high ranking responsible volunteer. We heard about everything from the clothing to the rental car, the food perks and the room at the beach, the parties and the elbow rubbing. Even with all of that "look at me" praise going on, he became suddenly scarce when it was time to give out our job descriptions and actually be in charge of things. There was a lot of back stabbing and slander going on with the "big guys" and obvious times of "passing the buck".

From it all I learned.....
- people are people but I am always responsible for my own actions
- I can yell at anybody and say anything as long as I wear an offical shirt and do it with a smile
- guys don't like for a girl to direct their vehicle anywhere
- cutie pie teeny-bopper girls can't direct traffic .... AT ALL

It's Just That Easy....

Could I compete in a major decathlon on all knowledge important to the 21st century era of computers and technology? No way. But I do know my way around my home and work computers enough to complete the daily tasks needs in office work and organizing. So, when it was time to refill my printer ink cartridges yesterday, the task was no formidable opponent for me.

I personally enjoy doing things like this. I think it is so easy to fill those absorbing sponges with ink and make sure everything is in alignment....thereby saving money and finding a way around those amazing price issues of buying new cartridges.

As I was completing this task, I flashed back to a memory of a couple of years ago. A co-worker from school was asking my advice on cutting costs for all of the printing that we find ourselves doing as teachers. Shocked that I was in the presence of someone who knew less about computers than myself, I was very glad to share with her the ease of these universal refill kits. I assured her that each kit comes with complete instructions and should be no problem at all. I even threw out the disclaimer that if I can do it...anyone can.

Poor Sweetie...she came into work the next day with a bag of universal ink kits for me and said, "Here you can get better use out of these than I can. I couldn't get things to work right so I bought new cartridges last night."
Oh I felt so bad for her. It was interesting though and really opened my eyes to communication and how people perceive things and follow directions differently.

See, as I asked her questions, I found that she had gone thru a whole bottle of the cleaning fluid that is in each kit. It is there for cleaning out the syringe and needle between colors. I am so glad she didn't notice my eyes pop out of my head when she said she had flushed out the entire cartridge with the whole bottle of cleaning fluid before filling it with ink.
She was so frustrated, I didn't have the heart to tell her the fluid was for the needle and NOT the cartridge and she had spent $100 needlessly.


Perceptions in following directions.....we all view things differently.
I guess that is why there are all of those odd warning disclaimers on products.
"Do not use the iron while taking a bath."
"Do not spray face with bug killer."
"This toddler's toy kitchen kitchen set contains non-edible parts."
"Do not leave the driver's seat while cruise control is engaged."

Definition...

Integrity: It's what you do when no one is watching.

How it works...

Just breathe and believe.

revelation...

No to the brussel sprouts.
Now I know........