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Full Days and Brain Breaks

September 4, 2014
A trampoline brain break
The days are so full.  Yesterday, I went for a morning run, shopped for the week’s groceries, put them all away, emptied and re-filled the dishwasher, started preparing lunch, took a shower, read a couple of chapters from a missionary novel (Papau New Guinea Folopas) and a few chapters on American history (Columbus, Pizarro, de Leon) with Kayla, soaked some beans for a future meal, returned some emails, scheduled a FedEx pick-up, put some appointments on the calendar, read the Bible and journaled, all before 11am.  
At 11am two of Kayla’s closest friends came over to work on their schoolwork together.  While they got started, I finished cooking lunch and gave Cooper the haircut he’d been requesting for days. (Robert was in line for a haircut, too, but then he opted for SuperCuts the day before, which is only a short walk from our house. I did not discourage this plan.) Then I sat down with two of the girls and tried to help them prepare for their upcoming debate on the death penalty.  We multi-tasked by watching a debate video while eating. After they started making good progress, it was time to sit with Kayla and work on her grammar lesson.  She’s begging for spelling, too, but I can not remember to whom I loaned (or gave?) my Spelling Power book.
The girls had a LOT to accomplish.  Cooper had a LOT to accomplish.  And I still had a LOT to accomplish.  I know it’s not necessarily in vogue or in line with the latest principles for time management or Stephen Covey’s “seven habits,” but for now I live and die by the checklist.  Actually, there is a new book out called The Checklist Manifesto.  We learned about it while helping Cooper through an SAT prep program.  Robert immediately downloaded it to his Kindle, read the entire thing, and now we have posted checklists (by Robert) in the bathroom for proper procedures for showering/leaving the bathroom in order, in the kitchen for washing dishes/wiping counters/loading/unloading the dishwasher, and on the back door for all the things that need to be done before leaving the house. Would you believe that they are actually quite effective ~ for the most part? So, maybe I am up with the trends after all?
I heartily encouraged some jumping, because they had been so focused
and hard at work for hours!

 This morning I went on my weekly 6am-ish run with Betsy, was home by 7:30, had a cup of tea and read my Bible ~ all the while thinking I had no outside obligations until 11:30am when I was to meet with a student for coffee.  Then I sat down with Kayla to do more reading for school, and about 15 minutes in the phone rang.  It was our dentist calling to tell me I had missed Kayla’s 9:15am appointment.  I wrote it on the calendar, and I even made note of it last night before bed, but it never made today’s checklist which only included a morning run, school, a coffee date, a gift-buying errand, and a meal delivery to a church family who just had a new baby.  Fortunately, the dentist had an opening at 11am, which then affected my coffee date, but that ended up needing to be postponed as well.

I did get several pages of my theology book read while in the waiting room though, which is great, because “seminary reading” is always making the checklist, but not always getting checked off.  And I’m learning that reading at 9pm while propped up in bed isn’t the best scenario for studying.

Last night I got in bed to read (denial), but then received a phone call from my sister which was wonderful, but required an hour and a half to catch up on all the necessary things. At 11:15pm, I slid into bed next to a sleeping husband, who had been out of town at meetings all day.  He woke up a few seconds later and said, “Let’s’ go on vacation.”  We both laughed.

No vacation in sight, but I think a trampoline brain break is definitely in order.  Or even better ~ a dinner-and-movie-out break.

We’ll put that on the checklist along with WAY overdue homeschool reports and proposals, college and job applications for Cooper, a wedding on Saturday, a fall kick-off with returning students this Sunday, the beginning of small groups, etc.

While we were running this morning, Betsy told me all that she was learning from this verse:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, of I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-29

It was so nice to be reminded that the wearisome burden of sin has been lifted by Jesus, and that we can even give Him our daily yoke of duty, finding rest, maybe not necessarily for our physical bodies, but certainly for our souls.

Praying for grace to cast my daily checklist onto Him.  I know it’s good to busy for His sake and purposes, but it’s bad to be busy in my own strength for my own purposes. Trying to learn the difference!