Getting Your Hair Caught in the Vacuum

My hair is long enough that it reaches past my waistline.  It's more convenient to put it up in a bun when I'm exercising or doing housework, but sometimes I just forget to.  Yesterday, I forgot to.  Vacuuming is best done when J is awake, but that means he wants to be involved, which I love but can get complicated.  So, the faster I finish the task the better.  As I entered J's room, the vacuum started to sound different and like the careful household item owner that I am (or Mr. Butler has trained me to be) I stopped to make sure everything was okay.  In one quick motion of concern, I leaned down to look underneath and suddenly my hair fell in the same direction.  Before I knew what was happening my head was jerked toward the ground and my hair was being sucked into oblivion!

I recovered without a problem, but it was ridiculous and alarming all at the same time.  And life application came pouring into my brain.   Of course, there is the don't let your hair near the bottom of a vacuum lesson. Beyond that, perhaps this is how some people wind up in the proverbial ditch on the side of the road.  No bad intentions, no ill will.  Just low attention to detail, low caution and suddenly they are getting sucked up into something they never dreamed of.

How to keep your vacuum from sucking you up:

1) Remember the power it holds.  Because something is common to us, it's easy to forget the power it has to affect our lives.  Anything that we allow ourselves to get dependent on or familiar with can and will influence us.  Technology, friendships, even habits like diet and exercise.  Make sure we treat it with the respect it deserves.  It will change your life, just make sure that's a good thing.

2) For intended use only.  When we don't have what we want (companionship, confidence, motivation, etc.), it's easy to pretend to get it from somewhere else (food, spending $$, facebook, etc.).  Food is for health and sustainment.  Money allows the purchase of goods, not happiness! Make sure you are utilizing elements of your life for what they were intended.

3) It can happen to you! No one is immune to being careless and getting sucked up into a whirlwind of some kind.  Know your weakness and put in fences.  If you know you are a time waster and just got a new iPad, set time limits for yourself.  Do you eat when you get bored? Every time that tummy growls, drink a glass of water and do something on your to-do list first before taking a bite.

Nobody (that I know of or would claim to know) plans on getting their hair sucked up a vacuum.  Nobody plans to lose precious time and relationships over foolish choices.  But it happens to us all, all the time.  Take a little inventory today.  "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!" That pretty much applies to most everything else.

This Old House

This morning, as I was making my bed, I realized how much I would miss my little house.  No, I'm not moving anytime soon, but we have some goals over the next couple of years with moving being one of them.  And you know how it is.  The (cheap) carpet is definitely showing its true colors and the ancient wiring in the bathroom keeps the light from staying on consistently and everything else like it.  All screaming at me, "Your new house won't be like this!"

So, moving has been on my mind, but for some reason I thought of actually walking out the front door and never coming back to call it home.  I'd already done that once in my life and it was traumatic.  Sure, its just a house and I know some people live in 15 different places throughout their lifetime.  But, not me and my entire marriage was housed here.  My beautiful son was born in the living room! And on it goes, all the sentimental things that I'll miss.

I turn to Randy, who is in the bathroom putting in his contacts, and officially inform him that although I most definitely want to move (and ASAP!), know that I will deeply mourn this house.  As you would expect he chuckled and said ok, with that 'you're crazy but I'm getting used to it' kind of look.  When I was much younger and my family moved out of my childhood home, I was so excited that I didn't look back.  Full speed ahead!!  And I crashed and burned (emotionally) really hard.

My point is this: Change - even when its the healthiest, most beneficial, most RIGHT change - is hard and requires a little bit of mourning.  A new car, a new school, new friends, new routines even! Sometimes we ignore our need for mourning because a change is normal, necessary or something that happens really fast.  But acknowledging somehow what the old represents or meant to our life is healing and nourishing somehow.  As babies turn into men and structures decay, life will not be the same.  And while that's okay, to maintain our balance we have to honor all that those babies and once new entities were and meant before we can embrace the bright future.

I'm Just Not Ready

In the shower this morning I was going over the things I needed to remember to do today and felt much like juggler. Which ball do you throw first? The muscle we use to focus on several things at once is a special one isn't it? At that moment, I realized how much of my life I wanted things much sooner than I was ready to deal with. Probably the most common example of this is young ladies longing to be matched up and married, ready to create a home and tend to it. No matter the age, most feel afraid since it hasn't happened yet then it might not happen at all and then despair enters the heart. I was no different, except that while I wanted everything, I didn't want any cheap imitations or rushed orders. I wanted it with all of my heart, but I didn't want to mess it up even more. Of course, blatant perfectionism can get you in a whole lot of trouble. I'm not advocating such standards that no one can match, least of all you! But, sometimes we're just not ready for things and God knows that. No matter the age or the object of affection, sometimes we're just not ready. A 3 year old is not ready for the sole responsibility of a dog. Most 16 year old boys aren't ready to care for an entire house all by themselves. I spent several years as an official 'adult' in college and didn't marry until I was 26 (which by some standards is an old maid!). I am 29 and have yet to birth children. I am now so grateful for all of that. I cherish being able to consider my roles, consider my capabilities and desires before being thrown in them. We can't always be so lucky, but in so many ways we have that option in life and choose to ignore it. Because others around us, whether our age, circumstance or whatever, start doing things, its so easy to get caught up in the idea that you probably should too. Moving out, going to college, getting a pet, marrying, having children, etc. are all things that requires a certain level of preparation and responsibility. These undertakings, without some preparation and readiness, can blow up in your face. In the shower this morning I was so thankful that I did not get what I thought I wanted several years ago because I flat out wasn't ready at all.

I know, when are you ever really ready for adulthood and all it holds? You might answer never, but I wouldn't. There is a scale I think rather than ready or not. We're taught to seek wisdom, especially in our youth. To me that means there are wiser choices and less wise choices. When I say ready, I don't mean 'can perform task perfectly.' I mean informed of and grasp the gravity and ramifications of task. No, the world doesn't stop turning because someone does something prematurely, but ripe, juicy tomatoes are so much better than green, hard ones.