A Full Schedule...of Blessings

  It’s been awhile since I wrote anything, so I figured I’d sit down this morning and try to come up with some words. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say, it’s just that I’m not sure anything I have to say right now is valuable to the masses (by masses, I obviously mean to my 3 or 4 followers). But, we’ll give it a shot.

Y’all, it’s been a busy season here in the Swinehamer house. Mom-taxi, sports mom-ager, walking and milk drinking 14 month old, condensed half marathon training plans…you get the idea. I’ve had to miss out on some things that I wanted to make priorities–we haven’t been to church since mid-February, and we had to miss our small group a few weeks ago. On the horizon, I see a few more small group misses thanks to baseball game schedules, and my calendar doesn’t show any signs of letting up any time soon. I am barely keeping my head above water.

But, I am. And maybe that’s it, maybe that’s the post. I share my struggles with social media about having to get from A-B-C and then back to A all in one night. I share that Austin has baseball related activities usually at least 5 out of 7 days in the week. I have to pause on my loads of laundry to go get in a training run between David’s night shift nap and actually going to work. It’s all going to be so short lived. These kids, well, they’re growing. There will come a day when there are no more practices for me to get to, no more trombone lessons after school, no more days when I have to throw together a PB sandwich between activities just so he has some type of caloric intake besides Doritos and Skittles.

There will be a day when the little one takes over the big’s schedule and by then, Austin will probably be able to get himself most places on his own (friends, friends’ parents, and holy cannoli, one day he’ll be driving himself). He won’t need me to get his graham crackers for him, or run to the couch to save his life after he’s climbed on the dog to get onto it for the 7 millionth time today.

There will come a day when I can’t run anymore. I’m hopeful that I’ll be well into my 80s when that happens, but I don’t know. I know that today, I can go for a run and train to be competitive. It’s not just about the training and getting faster, it’s a break from everything else and it’s the endorphins and stress relief and the health benefits, too. 

What’s important right now, is that I’m making it. I’m exhausted, but it’s a good exhausted. The kind you get when you know you survived another day, everyone in the house is fed and healthy and that’s just enough. BUT inevitably, something is going to fall through the cracks. That might be the occasional small group that gets missed, or the volunteer opportunity for the PTO that I have to pass up. But I’m fighting SO HARD to make sure that it’s not JESUS that falls through the cracks.

The fellowship at church and small groups that we’ve missed has not gone unnoticed. The intentional time with scripture that I’ve been trying to make a habit has lessened. Going to a physical building and worshiping with other people, singing along with hands raised, that’s slipping through the cracks much more than I want it to. But, Jesus is still with me. Through it all. I praise God after appointments that have gone well, because I know the reason Aiden’s heart has healed is all Him. I pray that Austin has a safe game and doesn’t take a ball or bat to the head. I thank God before bed for all of the blessings that have allowed me to remain so busy and exhausted. Because at the end of the day, that’s what all of these things on my calendar are. Blessings. We’re blessed with two beautiful, healthy (sometimes super annoying) children. We can afford sports. We have good schools who offer activities that the kids can overload their schedules with. David has a good job that he loves. I am healthy enough to run at least 20 miles every week.

One day, the schedules will clear and we’ll have more time to be able to gather with friends. We’ll be able to make it to church every Sunday. But in the meantime, we just take God with us wherever we go.