It Won't Be Like This for Long... Are You Making Memories or just Checking Off a 'To Do' List?

Do you ever find yourself wishing life would slow down just a little bit?  It's easy to forget why we do all we do as wives and mothers!  I have to remember...it's all about people not just things. This next week is going to be VERY busy for us. Sometimes it seems as if it is more than any one person could do.  So many tasks...and so many momentous occasions on the horizon! Baby showers, new grand baby coming, new job for a child, driver's permits, selling a father's home, first job, college registration. It's enough to blow your mind!

Tomorrow, my daughter-in-law Elisabeth, mommy of Lena, will be having a baby shower in the afternoon and I'm really looking forward to being there. :o)  After we get home, about 4:30pm, we will spend the evening finishing up packing for a week long trip away in Grand Prairie.  Did I mention that my son and his wife are expecting a boy by the end of August? Lena will have a little brother! I can hardly believe it!

I have so much to do to get dad's house ready, that I don't think I'll ever get to work on my own.   His house has been on the market since April and the only offer fell through last month. The fact is the house is just awful! The carpet was terribly old and dirty. The walls are yellow with white places where the pictures once hung. Not because of my dad, who only lived there a short time, and pretty much had cancer that whole time, but because of the fact that his parents and sister lived there all their lives and had pets and smoked.  If I don't do some major work, the house will probably never sell.  I got new carpet installed last week, and the realtor called this morning and said it looked fantastic. She was letting the plumber in to repair the rusted faucet and pipes in the bathroom sink, so the carpet could be finished installing in there.

I have several fun tasks to accomplish over the next week or so while in Grand Prairie:

• Meet with the Terminix guy to do termite  and pest treatment and show us where all the damage is.
• Arrange and supervise repair work on the wood from termite damage to be done by construction friend of my mother's. 
• Meet with the people who just installed the new carpet to finish the bathroom carpet and lay down new linoleum in the kitchen.
• Talk to neighbor about watering the lawn.
• Make plans to remove dead tree in front yard and trim broken one from storm damage.
• Pay yard guy for next two month's lawn care.
• Scrub and re-line all the cabinets and drawers.
• Paint the whole house.
• Hang new curtains. Repair blinds.
• Call estate sale guy again since he hasn't been returning calls about his payment to us.
• Meet with tax guy about our taxes.
• Visit friends in the area.
• Give mom the few couch cushions I have managed to sew. Perhaps sew in the evening at Aunt Joan's house.
• Meet with realtor to take new photos for re-listing the property after repairs and improvements.

I never would have imagined how much work it would be to settle an estate when a house is involved and the housing market is about dead!  Pray that I get it all done, with my able teenagers' help and that we will get some showings when we put it on the market as a new property this September.

We bought all the supplies for painting today, plus air freshener, lining for shelves, and are pulling together the cleaning supplies. It's amazing how much fun we had just shopping at Wal-mart and Sam's and listening to the kids' favorite country songs and contemporary worship music on the radio and sing along while we drove around town. Even simple days can be memorable when they are shared with your family.  My youngest is 15, about to be 16. I know the empty nest is just around the corner!

I also bought my DH 'camp food'. He will be living off of spaghetti sauce and chili that I made this week, plus canned ravioli, beef stew, chicken chow mein, ramen, peanut butter and oranges. We call that 'camp food' and he loves it!  He doesn't like TV dinners, and would rather not eat than have to cook much. I'd make him other dishes, but he wouldn't remember to eat them.  I hate leaving him at home alone to fend for himself, but I know he will be fine I guess. He has to meet his boss next week in Houston about the same time we will be arriving home.

When we get home, we have a whole new list! Getting Jacob, my 18yr.old, registered for dual credit college classes, his driver's permit (which he is now ready for), and tested. Plus he's trying to get on with UPS. I'll be in the thick of meeting with student counselors, getting his ID, paying for classes etc. starting with the very first day after we get home.

There is never an end to the list! And the new grandbaby will arrive shortly afterwards. Poor mom, she keeps asking, "where are my cushion covers"?  I don't know how to describe the never ending list that makes up my life.  Sigh...  Forget painting my house for now.  I'm afraid I'll never have time to do it. 

I often remind myself, when the tunnel of tasks looks very long,  that I must treasure these days because 'this too will pass'. I know I will miss the busy-ness one of these days.  I've learned to have fun while doing our 'to do list'. Otherwise, I never would have any fun at all. It would all just be work. 

 Christian with Debate Buddies

The kids and I will have a great time, even while painting, I'm sure. We picked up a couple of movies we want to watch together in the evenings and will take some games. And my favorite Aunt and Uncle will arrive a few days before we drive home. So we will get to spend a couple of days visiting.  I will probably see my Dad's friend, Nancy, who is such a sweet lady while we are there too.

We will be visiting some of the kids' debate friends while we are there and may attend a going away party for one of them, who is off to college next week.  That will be Sun.-Tues. I just love watching my teenagers have so much fun and develop friendships like these.

And helping my 18yr. old get 'launched' into life with first college classes, first job, first days of driving--well, I just don't have words for it. He's become such a man and I'm just not sure how it all happened so fast!  I wish you could have been a fly on the wall as Rebekah and I listened to Jacob talk with the UPS guy about inside tips for getting a job there. He attended the same college Jacob wants to attend while working his way through with UPS. At the end of the talk, Jacob gave him a firm handshake and a grin and didn't quite swagger out the door but his head was held high.  

The guy said he would get quite a workout loading boxes from 4-8pm every night.   Jacob said, "That's just the kind of job I want. One that will keep me in good shape!".  He plans to go to college through the Army National Guard. He's always loved that organization and can't wait to join. Then it's on to a pursuit of a Criminal Justice degree. No surprise since he's a debater.

Yep..., I'm swamped...but it's the right kind of busy... :o)   Makes me think of that song...

It Won't Be Like This for Long by Daniel Rucker...

  It's a beautiful song about a father and the changing seasons of life...

Happy Homemaking!