Image courtesy of radicalparenting.com
In an effort to be more positive, I will not tell you about my hour and a half long pediatrician's appointment. Or how Manly cried from 2 pm until 1:30 am because of his 2-month shots. Or how a football game interfered with my personal time.
Instead, I want to tell you about my friends.
I have been excited for Monday since last week. I began planning out Monday's schedule last Wednesday. Why was Monday so special? Monday marked the beginning of a new semester for Mr. B. It also meant a return to routines for me and the babies.
It was going to go perfect. I would get up at 5:30 to exercise, return home and shower, and blog before the kids and Mr. B. woke up.
Saturday changed those well designed plans. Saturday, I received a phone call from a familiar phone number I has previously lost.
"Hello?" I questioned.
"Is this Ambrosia?" the voice replied.
"Why, yes it is! And, is this J.?" I responded.
After a brief re-introduction to what was going on in our lives, she asked me a question.
"I am passing through your town and I was wondering if I could use your couch Sunday night."
Without hesitation, I replied in the affirmative. Her visit wouldn't be long. She would arrive Sunday evening and leave Monday by 9 am.
I quickly made some mental adjustments to my perfectly planned Monday. I would use the Queen's naptime to blog.
It was wonderful to catch up with my old friend. We inquired after each of our children, giggled about old memories, mourned over mutual friend's losses, and celebrated our individual accomplishments. The time passed too quickly and soon it was time for her to go. We said our good-byes and promised to keep in touch. And, we will.
While waiting at the aforementioned doctor's appointment, I received another phone call from a friend. After hearing her apology for not returning my previous phone call, I quickly interjected. I told her I understood and asked if I could bring my crew over for lunch. She happily responded yes and we decided on a time.
During my visit with my friend, we discussed our situations. She and I had both of our babies within a month of each other. Thus, we discussed the joys and frustrations of having two children so close together. It was a nice reprieve from my daily life to sit and talk with a treasured friend.
When I returned home to my normal chaos, I was much more mentally prepared. The visits carried me through dinner preparations and the nightly clean-up. I reminded myself how lucky I am to have met and maintained friendships with these lovely ladies.
Yesterday, I did not keep to my well-laid out plans. I am glad. I needed that time with my friends.
In a completely unrelated topic, I am giving myself a blogging schedule. If I give myself certain assignments, I don't feel as apprehensive about posting. Make sense? Thus, here is my tentative plans for this blog. This is subject to change based on crying babies, doctor appointments, sleeplessness, and, yes, friends.
Monday: Write (or not write) whatever is in my head.
Tuesday: Discuss research.
Wednesday: Write (or not write) whatever I want.
Thursday: Discuss research.
Friday: Write (or not write) my heart's desires.
Saturday: Discuss social issues.
Sunday: Write something of a more spiritual nature.
I gave myself a pass on research today because I needed to write about yesterday.
How do your friends make your life better?
Do you make time to keep in touch with old friends?
Isn't it interesting how we crave routine and then the best moments are unplanned? I too am a planner. I love calendars and to-do lists and am not one for spontaneity. But I feel sometimes like I am missing out on living for all of my planning.
ReplyDeleteSo nice you were able to catch up with your friends!Now that the holidays are over, I'm on a mission to convince my girlfriends to make a roadtrip down here to see me. I'm promising to send Hubs and the kids to mil's house for the weekend.
ReplyDeleteMy real world friends have always been important to me but lately, having found this virtual community, I find that my virtual friends are important to me too. While my schedule for blogging (and I do have a schedule) is every other day, I read and comment on other peoples' blogs every day. For my topics, I kind of look around my life to see what's going on - with a bias towards levity. I also think it's very interesting to see what's going on with other blogs, what topics they're discussing and continuing the discussion on your blog. That's the really fascinating thing about being part of a community - getting a conversation going.I also love the idea of you blogging about faith on Sundays, especially on the days when you are able to attend church and the message of your sermon is fresh in your mind.
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of blog scheduling. Plan it and forget about it (until the scheduled time that is). I find it amusing (and frustrating) that I am so stressed out by not being able to spend as much time on this whole blogging thing as I would like. I understand that I should be focusing on the more important things such as people in my real life and my real job that gives my family the real health insurance, etc. etc. I guess it is time I look at it and admit that I have an addiction of some sort. Glad you were able to reconnect with old friends. Those moments are truly wonderful. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI think real life, spontaneous moments and catching up with friends are the things we blog about in the first place. So while it's great to have a schedule, it's also great to break your routine.Especially when it involves catching up with friends!
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of stealing your inspiration. I like the idea of a schedule. I like the idea of putting it in writing to have some accountability.I love to catch up with old friends. I met a lot of old friends over the summer at my 30th high school reunion. Many of us have kept in touch to this hour. Friendship is wonderful for our lives and our souls.
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