Somehow it keeps happening: we have an unhealthily-full schedule. It feels like I keep trying to harness it, but somehow, we end up packing it all in. Week after week. As self-appointed social coordinator of our family, I'm quick to take the blame, so it has been my continuous goal to calm our schedule down more than a little …each week.
But it doesn’t seem to be working.
So I mentioned that perhaps we just need to learn to say “No.” Well, not really learn, because we actually know how to say it {at least so much more than we did 5 years ago.}. Also, it isn't like we are this delicate couple just too intimidated to say, “sorry maybe another night”. The problem is that we love everyone and everything.
We love our friends, we love people, we love having people over, we love church, we love our nights at home together, we love going into the city, we love trying new things, we love helping, we love serving, we love eating, we love talking …we love listening. We love doing everything. So it isn’t that we can’t say no to things we don’t want to do…
… it’s that we just want to do everything!
It’s difficult when both partners want to do everything. We each, on our own… and together… enjoy so many things. But fortunately, life is a bit different now with our little guys and their needs. The fact is that our decisions really need to be intentional, not because we are trying to keep to some kind of schedule {I mean, there is definitely a basic routine to the eating and napping and playing/learning that keeps them healthy} but because our decisions now affect two lives that have been put into our responsibility. That’s not to say we want to stop everything we are doing because we have kids, but I think it does mean that we need to show discernment and wisdom and care …and an amount of intentionality… with the choices we make, the people we invest in, the new things we try.
So eventually we’ll get it. I feel a personal responsibility to make it happen. One day we’ll see it in our google calendar: a completely event free week. Ahh. I can dream, can’t I?
Well, maybe not completely event free =)
