A Little Break for Mom

I spent Friday and Saturday nights in a Red Roof Inn about 20 miles from home. I spent most of Saturday in my room, watching football and movies, journaling, praying, reading fun books, reading challenging books, and reading the Bible.

Kevin and the older kids nobly held down the fort at home.

It was a really good thing for me to spend some time by myself and process life.  It was a really ODD thing for me to sleep until 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. I can't remember the last time I did that. I am a totally nutty morning person so I usually like to get up early, but yesterday I enjoyed lazing around in bed.

One book I've been reading is on perfectionism.  I am not a perfectionist in all areas of life, but I definitely have some perfectionistic tendencies.

I'm realizing that while hard work and diligence are good,my internal drive tips over to being bad when I can't relax and be satisfied with "good enough" in some areas of life.

I was thinking today about how stressed I am about a stupid dental bill. The dental bill in question should be paid by our dental insurance, but there has been some mix up and I need to make phone calls and get it sorted out. I HATE calling insurance companies and doctor's offices, because I usually have to survive a phone tree and then try to straighten out what is going on while keeping tabs on our children.  Sometimes I end up with multiple calls back and forth.  (I've already made 2 calls about this dental bill, and it hasn't been resolved.)

It is reasonable to be a little annoyed, but it shouldn't hang over me like a black cloud. I've generally been very focused on getting necessary things done in a timely manner. I rarely procrastinate.  That is a fine thing in general, but the reality is that this dental bill may take some time to sort out. I can't just call any old time, because if there is screaming and yelling from kids in the background, the call is impossible. So I may need to wait until Tuesday afternoon to call, because tomorrow is busy.

That is not a big deal. But inside, I feel internal pressure to get the stupid thing taken care of ASAP.  I need to be peaceful if it takes a while.

I'm also realizing that the whole "have faith in God" thing means having faith that He'll carry us through even when things don't go all that well. There are times in life when life is rough.  God doesn't promise us an easy life.  Actually, if you read the Bible, it is clear many people will have quite a hard life.  My life has been comparatively easy, but we have definitely had our hard seasons.

I do feel rejuvenated after being away for 36 hours or so.  I'm thankful that Kevin saw the need and arranged for a break for me.