A Mother's Rule Of Life

I got one of my books that I ordered from Amazon.com yesterday! And boy was it greatly timed!! This book is a godsend!

Yesterday, I was excited to surprise Ted for lunch. My sister was off work and volunteered to watch the kids while I took Ted to lunch. I had planned this for a couple of days and wanted to keep it a surprise. I asked Ted about his schedule for the day and felt good that he had time for lunch with me. Then, around 11am, I start calling him. No answer. I call his cell. No answer. What? He should be in a meeting! Maybe someone is in his office (cubicle). I'll just wait for him to call me back. Thirty minutes later...no response. I decide to text him, asking him where he is. Becky is on her way and I can't even get a hold of Ted!

Ted finally calls. He doesn't know why he didn't get my previous calls and says he just got McDonald's with a co-worker. I tell him my plans for lunch and he apologizes, but it just didn't feel enough. I hang up, disappointed. He was bringing the McDonald's back to the office. He hadn't even eaten it yet. Why didn't he trash that $5 of McDonald's and tell me to come on up to meet him? Why was he being so practical instead of recognizing that we NEVER go to lunch together?? This was a rare opportunity. I was all dressed up, with full make up, fluffy hair and my husband got McDonald's.

Becky comes over and I explain the situation to her. I decide to go shopping. And shop I did. Ted calls while I'm at Target. I tell him why I feel hurt. He feels really bad. I can feel that he's just starting to realize how dumb it all was...that he could have chucked the McDonald's. I tell him, he would have SAVED money by going to lunch with me because I shopped at Target and Kohl's and spent more than $5. I wouldn't have shopped if we went to lunch. We shared a laugh on this, but it's interesting how I let this drag me down the rest of the day. I don't understand why, but my energy was zapped. By afternoon I was a walking zombie. I think was tired of carrying the weight of my frustration and disappointment with Ted. And when you're tired all the little things feel too much. Ben and Mary felt too much. I had no desire to clean up the house, make dinner, or do anything else. When Ted came home, he could tell I had nothing left in me. It was no longer about the lunch incident. I was just tired. He brings in the mail which was my new book! He lets me escape to our bedroom.

I was so tired that I just climbed under the covers, fully clothed and just relaxed. Sometimes it feels good to escape like this when the husband comes home. I don't know how single mom's do it!! I had crashed and burned. I think it was a combination of everything. After constant screams from Mary denied me a wink of sleep, I decided to get out my new book, "A Mother's Rule of Life". I was hooked from the first page. I'm already a fifth of the way through the book. It's like she takes the concept of FlyLady and applies it to your whole life...including your prayer time. LOVE IT!! In fact, Flylady writes her own recommendation of the book. At first I thought this book would be all about rigid structure, but just like Flylady, it gives you a plan so you can keep a daily routine so important things aren't forgotten...and they become habit. I need this BECAUSE I'm not a structured person naturally. I NEED more structure. Some days I will walk through with distraction after distraction and nothing completed! I just keep getting the message that this doesn't work for me. Flylady was the first thing to get me back on track and now I have this book by Holly Pierlot to complete the picture for me. It's written for any Christian, but I like the fact that she is Catholic. She incorporates the sacraments and making them a priority, too.

After reading, I walked out of that room with a new purpose. I felt refreshed. I'm sure Ted could tell the difference. Now I have to put my money where my mouth is.