Time and Change

   Today, I am feeling the pinch of time.

    I don't have a date circled on my calendar and this is putting more pressure on me to get everything completed. Once this little paperwork snafu is over, I may need to have everything done within two weeks. That can happen any day now, or it could take a while. Either way, I know I do not want to do all of this in two weeks.

     So, how am I doing?

     Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

     Today, I am interrupting the schedule to make a few meals. Here is what I am doing to make this week a bit easier:

     I recently purchased five pounds of ground beef and it is time to put it to use. 1lb will become taco meat, 1lb will become spaghetti sauce, 2 lbs will become burgers and 1 lb will be used to make meatballs.

     I am grilling chicken breasts now. 1lb will be sliced into strips to add to salads or chicken tacos. 1 lb will be individually packaged for my husband's lunches at work. 1 lb will be used in a chicken and rice soup.

     I have pork roasts and beef roasts already frozen.

     I will not be cooking anymore for the next three weeks. All of these items will be packaged into freezer meals and we will be microwaving foods or eating from the slow cooker.  Twice each week, I will prepare vegetables and fruits to go with everything.

     This is something I can schedule. This is something I can master. This will give me time to focus on everything else that must be done.

     I am so thankful that I learned to make meals ahead of time. It really has made a tremendous difference in how I am able to use my time.

     As I go through the massive inventory of this home, I am amazed at how easy it has been so far to distinguish between what is truly important and what can go.

     Today, I went through my reference books. I have always been very attached to my reference books. I love to learn. Today, I found it very easy to create a pile of "important" and then box everything else up to go away. In my "important" pile, I had enough to pack exactly one box.

      The teaching materials may be a bit more challenging. I have some very useful items. I have glanced at that area and have allowed myself up to four boxes. Let's see next week where I am with that room.

     Crafts are a bit of a challenge also. I apparently have an adhesive addiction. I have every type of adhesive imaginable. Adhesives are tricky. Some adhesives will not work for glass or metal projects. Some will warp paper beyond recognition. Adhesives. I love them. I may have a small box filled with nothing but tapes and adhesives and I will probably make peace with that box.

    There is a box in my garage that completely shames me. I call it the "wires" box. Yes, it contains speaker wires, computer wires, printer wires, camera wires....  I don't know I was able to part with the items and yet the wires have stayed carefully stored in a box. Perhaps I had to search for a wire like a maniac and made some secret promise. I don't know but I am going to conquer that box also.

     This is going to be good.

     I keep imagining what it will really be like. How will things really be in a year?

      I know that I cannot possibly know. I know that the path of my life has taken so many dramatic turns and that I am not even recognizable as the person I once was. I also know that I will be okay.

     I have reassurance. I am not young and scared anymore. I know that things change and what is most important is how you are able to adapt to each new challenge.

     Not all of these challenges are bad. Some fabulous changes have still required a lot of adaptation. Children are an example of this.

     Children change EVERYTHING. If you don't believe me, look around at your formerly single friends who are now married with children.

     Chances are, you do not "hang out" with them as much. Your friends are now parents and must figure out how to pay for childcare and food instead of buying the latest, greatest concert tickets or sound system for their car.

     So, whether good changes or bad changes, we must all do the best we can to continue to move forward. We must continue to set goals and strive to achieve them.

     That is life.

     We simply have new goals and are working towards them. Check back in a year, and maybe we have added more goals.

      Who knows what will be next?

      I am ever grateful for the opportunity to be on this planet a little longer to have such fantastic goals.

      Now, I have to hurry and catch up with my ideal schedule!