Pacing Myself

Now that it's officially December, my thoughts and activities turn to Christmas. My mantra: Pace yourself, Angela...Pace yourself, Angela...Pace yourself, Angela.

Pacing myself has been my most difficult concept to grasp since the arthritis hit. My brain gets an idea and, other than brain fog, my brain is untouched by the arthritis. However, as my brain zooms forward with it's latest grand plan, my body hobbles along behind yelling with arms waving, "Hey! Wait for me! Slow down!" If my brain doesn't heed my body's demands, the outcome is predictable: CRASH! After a short time period of hyper-productivity, a fatigue-driven flare will settle into my joints and relegate me to the couch where I will helplessly watch my house and plans slowly deteriorate before my eyes. My family shoulders the brunt of this mistake: grouchy mom/wife (that's an understatement), fast food (if any food), no clean clothes, late bill payments...the works.

OK, maybe that's a little dramatic...but closer to the truth than I care to admit.

I have nineteen days to be prepared to leave town for the holidays (more holiday traveling). I issued my first edict to Katie and Hailey yesterday; one borne from eleven years of holiday lessons.

Before I tell you the edict, I want to lay the groundwork. Katie and Hailey are so close in age (16½ months apart--that was not planned) that they enjoy the same toys and the like. Couple that with the fact that they have seven aunts and two sets of generous grandparents and we have a "problem." It's a nice problem on the problem scale, but still a problem. TOO MUCH STUFF!!! And because they are so close in age, it's like a doublemint commercial: twice the fun.

Now for the edict, one I issued for the first time before Christmas of 2006: When we arrive back home from the Christmas holiday, they may not play with or use a single gift until they have given away or put away every single toy/item they own. This means broken items need to be tossed, unused or unloved items need to be donated and everything else must have a home...and be in that home.

Did you hear an unusual groaning sound yesterday afternoon at around 4:00 p.m. central time? It was the moaning, complaining and groaning of two Solomon adolescents. "Mo-om! That's not fair! We don't know where everything goes!"

"That's the point," I explained. I turned from them and could actually feel the eye-rolling vibe in the room. "You have twenty days before we leave for the holidays. If you do a little each day, you'll be able to finish easily." Do you see the "pace-yourself" theme here? They may not have been convinced, but they were forewarned.

I hope to help them with this endeavor, but did not offer that help verbally. At eleven and almost-ten years old, they are old enough to take care of their things...though they haven't been given the greatest role models. Nevertheless, I adhered to the edict last year and fully intend to do the same this year.

Escapist blogging does not equal pacing, so I'll hit "publish post" and get a few things done around here. I have plenty to do...but that's another topic.

Happy Holidays!