Take a Break

A lot has happened the past few days! We spent the first day home from our trip doing yard work. Then Robert started on our new patio addition. That was an experience to say the least. Once we finally got it all figured out (after a day of doing it wrong) it wasn't so hard. And it looks GREAT! I'm very proud of Robert. It's exactly what we wanted it to look like. Then we started the last part of our kitchen "remodel" project which consists of tiling the kitchen floor and finishing the grout work on the backsplash. His dad has been the one doing most of the work with Robert's assistance. So they finished all but one small section of the floor today. It has to sit overnight and dry and they'll finish and grout tomorrow. So hopefully by Monday my house will be back to normal. My breakfast table is in the playroom, my countertop appliance are on the dining table, the washer and dryer are on the back porch, and my refrigerator is in my den right beside the recliner. Plugged in and fully functional- it's a man's dream. Not a woman's dream, however. Chaos in my house drives me insane. I'm rather OCD when it comes to my personal space and this is grating on my nerves. However, being a mommy has forced me to significantly lower my standards for my household cleanliness. Hence the birth of the "playroom." Some other OCD mom came up with that idea eons ago just for people like me. :-) It's the one room in the house that I can leave a complete mess at the end of the day without frustration. I just apologize to whoever has to see it and blame it on the kiddos. So, needless to say, this week has left my brain a little flustered. Spring Break has been wonderful because we got a lot done around here, but it definitely wasn't a "break." I think most people are like that, though. We get the opportunity to rest from our daily routine and we fill it with other tasks instead of using it to recharge our batteries and enjoy life. Is it because we feel lazy doing nothing? Or because we're so used to constant activity that we literally don't know how? Either way it's a shame. I've learned over the past year that you can't take time for granted. You never know when a moment somewhere or with someone may be your last. Had I known that the last meal I had at my grandparents house that night would be the last time I'd see my Papaw smile, I might have sat with him at the table that night instead of sitting in the living room. I might have hugged him a little longer when we left. If I had gone to my parents house a little earlier on Christmas Eve, I could have said goodbye. But I didn't. I took time for granted. I assumed that he'd be there tomorrow. And he wasn't. I know we can't live life in a complete "carpe diem" style, but we can take moments to slow down and enjoy the people and places around us that we love. So sit down and breathe. Stop worrying about the mess in the playroom or the disaster in your bedroom. Make the last hours of Spring Break count.