How to Prioritize

I cannot imagine life as a TV watcher. The thought is one of the most depressing I can think of. Every night when I crash into bed, absolutely exhausted, sometimes with my shoes still on, I go to bed thinking about all the things I accomplished that day, from the mundane to the profitable. I even include things like remembering to start my day with morning prayers, learning a new song with my kids, and trying a new tea. And then my mind drifts to what's ahead.

There are so many things I want to do in my life and I just cannot imagine I will ever have enough time to do them. It's often difficult to even prioritize and figure out where to begin.

I really want to learn how to play trombone.
And I want to master painting on fabric.
And I want to learn how to can the homemade applesauce I make in the crockpot.
I also want to figure out how to actually be good at creating a website so I can make something great come out of the one for my hubby's contracting company.
I want to learn Spanish with my kids.

I want get back into writing more feature articles for magazines.
I want to learn how to tune my piano.
I want to video tape myself reading children's books so they have it to cry over once I die.
I want to write my parents' biographies in 10 pages or less each.
I want to see my friends from all over the world. (This is a lonely town to live in.)
I want to find an exercise routine that I enjoy and I can honestly work into my life. (Salsa dancing just isn't cutting it these days - DH is Polish. Enough said.)
I want to figure out the right method for marketing on a national, public scale, the safe environment videos my team created this year.
I want to hand-bead barrettes for myself.
I want to try sewing bandana pants for the girls before they get too tall.
I want to write more love letters to my hubby. And my kids. And my family and friends.
I want to gain the confidence to use our gas grill again (now that it's hooked up to the gas line on our house, I am scared to death I will blow up our house).
I want to volunteer at more TEC retreats.
I want to make fresh crab for dinner sometime.
I want to be the one who has the patience to teach Lillian how to tie her shoes.
I want to find new bedding for my bedroom.
I want to bring treats to my grandma in the nursing home more often.
I want to learn more about the healing properties of essential oils.
I want to do a million things each day and have no idea how I ever will have the time to do them all.

So there you go, I have just wasted a half hour babbling about just the start of all the things I want to do and how I don't have enough time to do them. Gah!

All Boy

 I distinctly remember the shock and horror that overcame me the moment I realized there was a penis growing in my uterus. How could I be pregnant with a boy? A dirty, snotty -nosed, worm eating, video-game playing boy? And then this sweet little cuddle bug named Grant entered our family and all the icky stuff disappeared from thought. He cuddles, still carries around a soft blankie, tells us he loves us all the time. When he was a toddler, I even wondered a few times if he might turn out to be gay - what a sensitive little darling who told me how pretty my fingernails were and wanted to wear barrettes in his hair.

But boy oh boy, there is no doubt that this kid is 100% boy. He growls. He can fart on demand. He is attracted to the idea of hunting (already at age 3!) and he uses his strong bodily force to get his way. I haven't seen frogs in the bathtub yet, but I did find a shriveled up worm in his pants pocket when I was about to toss clothes in the wash machine. He even whips out his "peanut" to pee in our yard when inspiration hits. My shoulders are slumping as I write.

I just have to thank God for those countless moments with my sweet-smelling darling. And that this brute of a boy will fit in just fine with society at large... if he can find a way to stop exposing himself in public.