A Big Win

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It’s amazing how talking about something can diffuse it. Don’t you think?

Since talking with my friend and sharing with you the other day, I seem to be moving in a much better direction. Life is far from perfect, but my reaction to it seems to be a bit better.

I told you that I would share as I go through this battle, so I wanted to take a moment to tell you about a big win…

Because of Lincoln’s birthday, my kids were off of school for the past 5 days. Since our Christmas break was high jacked by the flu, I wanted to make sure I really engaged with the kids each of those five days. And I did. We had at least one adventure each day including Chuck E Cheese’s, ice cream, breakfast at our favorite café, baking cookies and a long excursion at Scheels. I even said yes to playdough… 3 days in a row! It’s been glorious!

Over the course of those 5 days, subtle and not-so-subtle attacks came. And on a few occasions, I wanted to throw in the towel. But I didn’t. Instead, I’ve been crying out to Jesus and sending quick texts back and forth to my sweet friend. And I’ve been focusing on the I-got-it-dones rather than the I’ve-got-to-get-that-dones. Whatever. It’s my blog. I can make up words if I want to. ;)

Bottom line… I feel hopeful. And that’s a great thing to feel when you are battling against the one who is trying to steal it from you.

Are you feeling hopeful? Or has your hope been stolen from you?

Something Uncomfortable: Day 153

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We went to Conservation World at the State Fair today. The kids got to go on a scavenger hunt throughout CW. After they completed the hunt, they received a bag full of Smokey the Bear goodies. Fun, right? Except for the part about letting my five-year-old shoot a bb gun. Yes, there was an instructor who closely supervised the whole thing. But still.

I’m sure it’s shocking to think that allowing my child to touch a gun would make me uncomfortable. Let me assure you, it most certainly did. But I let him anyway. After all, I had to have something to write about…

Look what this child did:

It was his first time touching a gun, much less firing one. Do you see the dead-on bullseye? And the nice cluster of shots? For the record he only took five shots. Who is this kid?

I was so proud… of both of us! The really funny thing was that he took forever to take each shot. I was totally getting impatient. Then I saw the target. I guess we all know why he was taking so long.

Have you taken a leap of faith lately?

Something Uncomfortable: Day 150

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My children were so disappointed that they didn’t get to meet Melody Miller when I was on her show a few weeks ago. They heard that WIBI was going to be at the state fair and wanted me to message Melody to find out when she would be there. That’s exactly what I did late yesterday afternoon.

Somehow we ended up talking about how the Schneiders are fair rats… we go at least 5 times each year. Melody was shocked, as am I. I NEVER thought I would be one of “those” people. My sister and I went to the fair as teenagers to ride the rides and look for boys, but we outgrew that. And then I had babies and my perspective on the fair changed completely. They love it and look forward to it every year.

Melody told me to call into the show this morning to talk about being a fair rat. I assumed she was kidding. She asked what would make me think she was kidding? My fear of the phone of course! At any rate, I agreed to do it. And because Melody is super-cool, she asked to interview my kids too. Of course they agreed and singsonged “We’re gonna be on the radio” the rest of the day.

So guess what my uncomfortable was at 7:20 this morning? It went so well! The kids actually answered her questions and I think I only said “absolutely” twice. (I realized after the last show that I say “absolutely” like normal people say “Um.”) Now the kids feel like rock stars! So glad I was uncomfortable!

On a side note… I asked my daughter what her favorite part of the parade was last night. She told me that she loved the bumper girls. And that one day she wants to be the bumper girl in the black shirt with the brown hair in piggy tails. Why? So she can bump the other girls. Of course! What is a bumper girl? Is it the fair queen or a cheerleader or a gymnast? Nope. It’s a roller derby chick. I love my daughter!

What is something you swore you would NEVER do, and now you do it?

Something Uncomfortable: Day 143

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My kids have been BEGGING me to take them to Chuck E Cheese’s. It’s definitely not my favorite place to go, but since we are having an adventure a day to keep the depression at bay, I agreed to take them.

My biggest issue with going has been trying to watch both of the kids at the same time. They usually take off in different directions with a separate parent in tow. I’ve actually had major anxiety trying to figure out how to make a single-parent excursion work. I’m so ridiculous… really. I told the kids they needed stay together and that we would take turns picking what to do next. They thought that was great… of course they did! They would agree to anything in order to go.

I swear I waste more time and energy worrying about things that might happen when I should be trying to find solutions. Ugh!

What have you wasted your time worrying about?

Something Uncomfortable: Day 140

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UGLY!!!! That’s how I would describe my morning… UGLY.

Within 15 minutes of waking up this morning, I had a panic attack. Anxiety Drops didn’t help. Of course, my daughter decided to be grumpy on the same day that I was grumpy. And I had unexpected issues I had to deal with.

I knew I needed Sepia. I ate breakfast and then set the timer for an hour so I could take the Sepia. (You can’t eat an hour before and an hour after taking it.) 30 minutes after I set the timer, I realized I was chewing gum… Are.you.kidding.me? I reset the timer and prayed that I wouldn’t explode while I waited.

As I waited, I realized I need to get over myself. Yes, my hormones are out of whack. Yes, my anxiety and depression levels are higher than normal. Yes, I’m struggling right now. But in less than 3 weeks my son is going to start kindergarten and my daughter will be starting preschool 2 weeks after that. I simply don’t have the luxury of shutting down right now. I want to savor every moment I have with them, making memories and loving each other. I won’t EVER get this time back. And I refuse to let my nonsense (although very legitimate) screw it up.

So I’m functioning. And we had a wonderful adventure this morning. And I’m going to work my tail off this week to get my bookwork done when it’s inconvenient so I can hang out with my babies as much as possible. I am going to win!

Are you letting the UGLY win today? Or are you winning?

Something Uncomfortable: Day 136

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We are on Day 4 of our an adventure a day to keep the depression at bay excursions. I’ve got to tell you, it’s totally helping. And I’m totally doing stuff that qualifies as my Something Uncomfortable each day. It’s funny how God can use the things that terrify us to heal our souls.

It couldn't decide what color it wanted to be.

Earlier this week, our local apple orchard posted on Facebook about having the kids come out to pick blackberries. I called them yesterday to ask how we sign up. (Did you catch that? I made a phone call!) I made plans to be there at 9:00 this morning. We were sooooo excited!

When I woke up this morning, the reality of what we were about to do hit me… we were about to go stomping around in a field, pick berries and get dirty. Did I mention the heat? I put the grubbiest clothes we own on the kids and off we went. (We don’t really have grubby clothes… I’m a perfectionist who makes a killing selling my kids clothes at our garage sales. So I actually just put my least favorite items on them.)

When we got to the orchard, the sweet girl that worked there handed us our “buckets” (cut milk jugs that we tied around our waists), told us what to do and sent us on our way.

Looking down into my "bucket" - LOVE it!

We.had.a.blast! There weren’t an abundance of berries because of the drought. So we went digging… well, my daughter and our friend, Hamm, went digging deep into the bushes for the biggest berries. All the while, my son and I sweat like pigs at a luau and picked the berries that were on the edges.

When the sweat started to pool under my eyes, we called it a day. We had collected 5 pounds of berries, ruined the kids clothes and made a memory that we won’t soon forget. Because the half pound of berries that the kids ate in the field wasn’t filling enough, we bought a couple of sweet treats from their bakery and got a nice sugar high at the picnic table under the big tree next to our car. Amazing!

They look like they've been working on cars!

People, if you are not choosing to be uncomfortable… you are missing out!

  

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Something Uncomfortable: Day 134

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Yesterday,I told you about how I’ve been struggling with depression lately, but made the decision to actively work on feeling better. One of the ways I am doing that is by having an adventure a day to keep the depression at bay. 

Today’s adventure was to go to the McDonald’s playland. Vomit!! I mean really, is there a dirtier place on the planet? Add to the germs a bunch of small people running around and you have my own personal OCD, social anxiety hell. But whatever, I made a commitment to my kids so we went. And I invited a friend… which was a nice distraction from the grossness.

After an hour at the jungle of germs, we headed to Target for a couple of groceries. I really wanted a Starbucks frap while we were there, but struggled with whether I should spend the money on the overpriced cup of delightfulness.

After checking out, the cashier handed me a coupon for BOGO Target Starbucks frap! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!! You see, this particular friend and I have already shared 2 of these BOGO lottery tickets. We are stay-at-home moms (SAHMs) on budgets who LOVE Starbucks but try not to buy them very often. Spending $6 on 2 venti fraps instead of 1 really is like winning the SAHM lottery. I practically kissed the Target cashier and then continued my over-the-top joy as I interacted with the Starbucks barista.

You see, as I’ve been struggling lately, I’ve been wondering if I should continue this whole Something Uncomfortable journey. Are people reading my posts? Are they getting anything out of what they are reading? Is God using this ministry? Or am I just driving my Facebook friends batty with all of the SU posts popping up on their feeds?

And then God shows up at the Target Starbucks and says, “I’m here. I’m listening. Go ahead and buy the $6 frap.” Not only did I get to enjoy my favorite beverage, but I got to pay it backwards on God’s dime. So stinking cool!

I don’t know who this SU business is helping. What I do know is that it’s helping me. I’m a better wife, a better mom and a better me because of it.

Are you being uncomfortable? And are you looking for God in the little things?