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 139

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My kids and their cousins were playing outside this morning when I heard a strange rustling behind me. I had the uncomfortable feeling that there was a fairly large animal sitting there… watching me. I turned around and found this guy:

My gut reaction was to kick it into the neighbor’s yard. Instead, I called the kids over. My son was particularly determined to pick it up for a closer look. Of course, he had no desire to actually touch it. And so began our little dance to try and get this thing into the air.

Leaves and sticks didn’t work. And then I had the brilliant idea to use the sand shovel. I scooped it up… it flipped on its back… and I almost screamed. Those things are NASTY! My son was thrilled!

I hate bugs, but being momentarily uncomfortable is better than encouraging my kids to be afraid of them. Right?

On a side note, the other day, my daughter came in from the front porch and said, “Look what I found, Mommy! Isn’t it gross?” I yelped when I realized she was holding a fairly large and fuzzy dead spider… in her hand! I assumed she didn’t know what it was and asked her as much. She responded with, “I thought it was a spider. That’s what it looks like!” SERIOUSLY?!?! Who is this child?

And now let’s be done with the insect uncomfortables… please!

What uncomfortable things do you tolerate in order to humor your kids?

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!

  

Are you ready to become a part of the Something Uncomfortable movement? If you want to commit to stepping from fear to freedom, like the SU Facebook page and join the community of people who are ready to live instead of just existing.

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?

Something Uncomfortable: Day 133

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This summer has been filled with A LOT of stressful stuff. Most of it good, stressful stuff, but some of it has been not so good. Slowly but surely, as the stressors have continued to increase, my ability to function has decreased. My hormones have gotten out of whack, I have been struggling with bouts of depression and I have been just trying to survive.

My last scheduled stressor was on Sunday. I decided that once Monday came, I was going to pull myself up by the bootstraps and get over it. Enough is enough! And that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do.

I’m eating like a healthy person again. I’m up and functioning. I’m exercising as often as possible. But most importantly, I am determined to enjoy my kids every day until school starts. They made adventure lists lasts night. We are going to have an adventure of some sort every day for the rest of the summer. We started today by going to the local children’s museum and coming home and making homemade fudgsicles. Awesome!

Battling depression and anxiety is an ongoing process requiring various tools and aids. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my pity party that I forget that the first step to getting back on track is simply deciding to do something about it. So that’s my uncomfortable for the beginning of this week… I’m deciding not to wallow any more, but to start over and get back on track. There’s nothing like telling your kids that you are going to do something to help keep you accountable.

What first step do you need to take today?

Something Uncomfortable: Day 132

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All summer long, I kept reminding myself to pick up my son’s inhaler on the last day of Summer Fun. Guess what I forgot to do? UGH!

Of course this is not a facility that is just open all of the time. I procrastinated making the phone call all weekend and had contemplated driving by in hopes of catching someone who happened to be there… so I wouldn’t have to call.

I am happy to report that I phoned first thing this morning. I was hoping to talk to a live person so I could just get it over with. Sadly, no one answered. I left a message and now I wait for the return call… uncomfortably. Man, I just do NOT like the phone.

What uncomfortable thing have you been putting off?