On the level
Ever since we moved into our new place I feel like our lives have been moving along much quicker than we're really used to. And definitely much quicker than we'd like. It's not that we're getting cranky or upset with each other, or that the stress of moving has turned us on the honeymoon-like quality of our marriage after 2 1/2 months. Not at all. But it has totally worn us out. It seems like we get up in the morning, go to work, go home, do 2-3-4-5 hours more work (5 is a little extreme, that only happened twice) on the new place, and then drop into bed for a few hours' rest and then up again in the morning. Yesterday we were both so tired that we were in bed by 8 pm, we laid there and watched TV for about half an hour but both of us were asleep well before 10 pm. And not because we forced ourselves to sleep, just because we were actually that tired.
This past Sunday Benji preached on Balance. (Note the shameless plug for newhope by borrowing Curtis' really cool graphic for the series). He talked about slowing our lives down and learning to appreciate what's going on around us, letting Jesus be the "pace car" of our lives if you will. Well, generally, I love the pace of my life. I don't think it's too fast. I like the routine of get up, go to work, go to the gym, come home, have dinner, watch some TV, clean or tinker around the house, maybe cook up something for the next day, and go to bed. I like the routine of small group on Tuesday nights and the routine of WAM on Thursdays (although thankfully we now work about once a month instead of all the time). I like the routine of NFL football on Sunday afternoons, Sunday nights, and Monday nights. And I like the routine of NCAA football on Saturdays. But lately I've definitely been off kilter. And for me being off kilter means being really strung out. I was thinking about the sermon from Sunday last night when it hit me. For me to find balance, in addition to letting Jesus lead my life, I need to acknowledge two things
1) It's not a competition
2) If it's not a competition then I can't lose
I like competing. A whole lot. In high school I competed in orchestra for chair spots. I competed in swimming. I competed in Scholars' Bowl. In college it was every single swim practice. Well, here I am at 23 and I'm still competing. If JJ can clean the kitchen floor then I can see him his kitchen floor AND the bathroom and tub. Or if Sabrina can make a lovely chicken pot pie then I'll see her the chicken pot pie and make a cherry pie for dessert. See what I mean? And it's crazy! I'll be the first to admit that. And doing less doesn't make me the loser, it just means I am doing things well and in my own time. Take, for example, our house which is full and in need of some cleaning. I have to realize that while he was bachelor JJ did not really honor the whole cleaning thing ... but now that he's not a bachelor he's more than happy to have chores assigned to him. So his new chores are 1) sweep the kitchen floor 2) take out the garbage 3) clean up the toothpaste that drips from his toothbrush. He's newly married people, gotta ease him in, right? But 1 and 2 are 2 of my most hated chores so there we go - all done and no work from Angela! We'll see how that works out.