Of Cookies, Consequences and Sweating The Small Stuff....

I actually took most of the weekend to just do stuff with my family...and it felt wonderful! Since the girls have missed most of this swimming and gymnastics session due to the chicken pox, we decided to skip the last day when all the badges were handed out. Nick went for his workout and then I went off to teach the Circuit class at 10 am, but not before the girls and I had made a batch of squares for the Christmas Tea next weekend.

I had one meeting after lunch that couldn’t be moved, so Nick dropped me off and took his girls on a movie date to see Looney Tunes (and they have been trying to describe the WHOLE movie scene by scene to me ever since because they feel sorry for me missing it!) then we all baked a few more dozen cookies to ice later this week for the same Tea. Now that Erin is reading, following recipes becomes a read and do the math exercise (not that I tell her she’s working grey matter....) and Bethany is at the “I’ll HELP Do IT!” stage where the dumping of flour requires MUCHO supervision and cleanup.

Sunday I led the craft station for Erin’s age level at Church because they needed an extra set of hands and I almost NEVER turn down the chance to play with art supplies, especially stamps, drawing and glitter glue! We were making up gift certificates so that the kids could “Give of Themselves” this holiday season and some of the things that they thought would be helpful were priceless. Almost NONE of them would do the “Keep my room tidy for a week” option... I wonder why??

Sunday night was a bit hard for Erin. She was caught telling a lie that could have gotten another friend in trouble with her parents when she hadn’t even been involved in the incident, so after finally getting the real story straight, I walked over to the friend’s house with Erin so that she could apologize to the parent and child in question. I know how hard those last few steps up to the door to ring the bell were... I could feel how tense and scared she was, and yet how much better she felt once she had admitted her lie and said “I’m Sorry!”
Who says Learning Experiences are only hard on the kids? At least she went to bed with the matter resolved instead of dreading the next day.

Today I learned how difficult it is for me to “Not Sweat The Small Stuff”. I’ve always known that I have a real perfectionist streak... Nick helps to point out that I am a bit of a control freak, with obsessive tendencies, but that can also be a strength when you ARE your own company. I do need to know when to set that “super quality control” streak aside. Erin’s school is doing a float for the Santa Clause Parade and the Home & School President found an old banner at the school which she and a few others cheerfully cut up so that it could be turned into a long horizontal banner instead of the gigantic wall hanging that it may have once been. They asked me to sew up the ragged edges and then make two side channels so that a pair of broomsticks could be inserted as poles..... sounds simple enough, right?

This morning, when I get home and unroll the huge bit of fabric that I was handed at the bus stop, I discovered two things.... It is larger than any area in my house where I might actually lay this whole things out flat... and that someone else’s idea of straight and mine differ greatly! I managed to get the ends rolled under and pinned to stitch, but there was just NO WAY that this was ever going to lie perfectly flat or not look puckered (the old felt on the banner was already creating that effect without my help!) I was ready to despair when Nick looked at me and gently said. “How close do you think people are going to be looking at this when the float goes by??” BINGO!!

So is there a way to turn it off?? I’m not sure. At least I am more aware of when it is happening on the “small stuff”.... but it has been a thought provoking day. Just as music is boring when it is all played at the same intensity...I can’t always apply the same exacting standards to EVERYTHING I do.... that is just too draining.

Ahh.... but it is sometimes so hard to find the OFF switch!!