"System Outage"

The last two weeks have found me going at a dead run, but still just barely keeping up. Some of this is the nature of getting back into the school routine, some of it comes from the busy-ness of fall. But a significant hurdle fell in our path with the unexpected disruption caused by Hurricane Ike. Unusually strong remnants of the storm blew through our area a week and a half ago, and many people still are without power today. Schools and businesses had to close and we all had to adapt to a new scenario every day. I'm very thankful that we have nothing like the devastation the folks on the Texas coast are dealing with. For the most part, people's homes are repairable and they have most of their belongings. Yet, it was a big storm and is being called the most severe and widespread "system outage" in recorded history here.

So between all the things on my plate in the next month and the storm, I had to take a week off blogging. I also have been re-examining my priorities and my routines. I need to use my time better, particularly the time I spend working and playing on the computer (because when I'm honest, I waste a decent amount of time on here). I currently bounce around from task to task to computer like a ping-pong ball. It's very inefficient and I tend to lose track of time. I've realized I'm not following through with my kids because I'm so distracted. And then, when I get the kids to bed, I emerge to face a pile of dishes, laundry, and chores that are still undone. This places unnecessary burden on my husband who will help me with housework at night when he could or should be fulfilling his responsibilities as an elder, teacher, and/or music leader.

So my new plan is this: I'm going to purpose in my heart to do all my home-keeping during the day. I think this will eliminate that pile of undone work at night. I'm going to try keeping my daytime computer use to work and home management (paying bills, budget stuff, etc.), and keep that to just 1-2 hours while kids are napping or having some quiet time. I will only allow myself to "play" on the computer in the evening after the kids are in bed. That means writing on this blog will occur in the evening now, and will be competing with the stack of books I'm trying to get through, spending quality time with my husband, knitting, working on photos and albums for the kids, etc.

This most likely will result in less frequent posts to this blog. But the work that I need to be doing is so much more important.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about that garage sale? Not happening the first weekend in October, for sure. It may end up being postponed until spring!