A Winnebago Day

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Today I have decided to share something I wrote back in 2005.  It is easy to tell this is ‘vintage’ Life in the Stressed Lane as Princess hasn’t been in afterschool care in ages. 

I pulled it out because my mind is overwhelmed to the point that my thinking process is working about as well as running underwater.  It is a weird feeling and I need some perspective to get my mind and soul back on track.  Here we go...

It’s been one of those days where I’m so busy that I forget to eat or remember to take a bathroom break.  I must be the only one on my team in my office because I’ve gotten tons of stuff dumped on me at the last minute that have to be done “right now”. 

 

I almost forgot to pick up my daughter from after school care before they closed for the evening.  Usually when I get this busy, I can call my husband on his cell phone and he’d pick her up.  Guess what?  His day has been just as hectic and he was in the middle of handling a “crisis”.  Notice the quotes.  By “crisis” I don’t mean life or death, I mean “extremely urgent to fix or we will lose money”.  My stuff was like that too.  To my company it was a “crisis”.  But in the grand scheme of things, it will not even be remembered next month.

Anyway, back to my day.  I was too wiped out to cook supper (not good for the waistline…fast food means “fat” food). 

 

My husband was actually too wiped out to even eat supper.  Our daughter was caught in the middle because we were both too tired to really listen to her and give her the attention she needed.  Oh did I mention that I had a few hours of work to do after supper?  I’m sure you can probably relate and even say “been there, done that, Lisa and survived to tell the tale.” 

Later that evening my husband came into my office to say he was going to bed.  He surprised me by saying, “Why don’t we just sell everything, buy a Winnebago and park it in your parent’s back yard.  When they get tired of us, we’ll drive to another relative’s house and just keep going from relative to relative.”

 

You know, that sounds quite tempting.  Few responsibilities, no debts, no cash flow issues with my husband’s company, no one calling and wanting something from us.  It would be almost like being back in college.  We could just run away.  Kinda like one of my favorite children’s books.  It is called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and it’s by Judith Viorst.

Alexander was having a really bad day.  Everything was going wrong.  I mean his mother even forgot to pack dessert in his lunch!  Every couple of pages Alexander would say, “I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  I think I’ll go to Australia.”  At the end of the book, his mother comes in his bedroom to tuck him in and kiss him good night.  She tells him, “Some days are like that, even in Australia.”

 

We can’t run away from stresses of every day.  We can’t just sell it all and pack up a Winnebago and go.  Well, maybe technically we can, but it won’t make all the problems go away.  All we can do is change our response to them and our attitudes toward them.  All we can do is prioritize what’s happening and saying “no” or maybe “tomorrow” to the things of lower importance.  All we can do is pray to God for strength, patience and wisdom to get through the day without going insane or killing someone.

Winnebago days happen.  They will always happen, even if you park the Winnebago in Australia. 

All we can do is learn from them and use those lessons to make the next day a little easier.

“Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.  You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.  The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”  James 5:10-11 [NIV]

Lisa Hilton

Copyright 2005

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