"The Look"

Yesterday was a total “Monday” for me. The highlights are a scrubbed up bumper from parking to close to a wall I know existed, and shouldn’t park too close to in my big van, then hitting it anyway when I backed out for lunch; running out of gas in said van (thanks for the assist, Dad); and a huge fight with my husband over nothing of significance. And those are just the highlights. The song below sums up my feelings about yesterday. And it’s true. All my silly little problems and inconveniences are the things God uses to teach us to rely on him. I think maybe I was trying to do too much on my own, to be “strong” yesterday, and my silly mishaps were Gods way of saying, “I’ve still got this.”

I had an interesting conversation with a high school friend of mine of facebook chat last night about “the look” I keep getting. And she said I would get it for a while. It’s the look people give you when something bad or tragic or traumatic has happened in your life. They don’t really know what to do or what to say when something happens that makes then uncomfortable, so you get “the face.” And they ask, “Are you OK?” Most people get my standard “I’ve been better” or “Hanging in there.” But no, I’m not OK. I’m sad. I’m tired. I’m stressed out about getting things done. I’m worried about my kids, my parents, my husband, my niece. Brian’s house, Brian’s car, probate lawyers. This makes me think of my daughter’s lawyer for her car wreck case and how that’s STILL not settled. I could go on and on, but you get my point… So, my friend warned me, “the face” will get old, but people mean well, they just don’t know what else to do. Before she signed off she said “keep your chin up, but cry when you need too. you will be OK.” I know I will, I just have to get there…

And, in case you missed it, you have to read THIS POST from my friend’s blog about her perspective on my brother’s funeral. WARNING: it’s a tear jerk-er FOR SURE! My niece Kayleigh has been cheated out of an amazing Dad, but it is our job as her family and friends to make sure she knows our Father.

Weavers: Unplugged

A new tradition was started in the Weaver house last night – Technology Free Monday nights!  We have decided to set aside this night as family time, get unplugged  – with no electronic interruptions.  No twitter, facebook, or blogs.  No TV, DVD or DVR.  No DSi, Wii or iXL.  No cell phones – mine was on in case of emergency.  We chose Monday nights since there are no out of the house activities for any of our kids after 5:30.  (And there is no TV we regularly watch on Monday nights, but I digress…)  We chose to do this from 5:30pm Monday nights until  5:30am Tuesday mornings (when my alarm goes off).  The biggest question the kids had was if we could use the microwave.  I said yes, since it could be used to prepare dinner…

I think last night went pretty well!  I had dinner going when Britt and Emma got home at 5:30.  We were done with dinner by 6:30.  Played board games and made puzzles, and had the kids in bed by 8:00.  Jake didn’t quite understand the how or the why, but he made it through without any movies!  Of course, the first thing he wanted to do this morning was turn on the TV – and he asked me when I dropped him off at day care if he could watch a movie when he got home today!  Sweet thing!

After the kids were in bed, Britt decided to read a book, and I read some of my book before leaving for a meeting at my sorority house (I am an alumna adviser for our chapter) which kept me out until 11pm.  When I got home, Britt was still reading – finished the entire book before we went to bed!

So night 1 of Unplugged was a SUCCESS!  And I say Pffffffffft! to all the nay-sayers and HATERS out there!  “Won’t last 20 minutes” – how about 12 hours?  “Over/Under -45 minutes” MY FOOT!  We did it, and it was GOOD!  Next week we hope the weather is better so we can get outside; being inside while a pre-schooler who wasn’t 100% on board or sure why we were doing this got a bit trying!  But, I think it’s a great time with family and a great change of pace.