Doing Everything I Can to Keep Cool
Is it getting hot where you are? Because our temps are reaching over 100° which means, in a nutshell, I have reached my complaining stage of the summer. I apologize in advance for my excessive whining, but the sweat beads that are constantly dripping down my face keep me from being able to make good decisions.
Last Friday afternoon as I was coming out of the grocery store I wondered about the reason behind black, tar covered parking lots. The heat wafting up from the tar as I made my way out of the store to my minivan left me thinking that a move to Death Valley would be a cool down compared to this. To tackle the heat, I have started keeping a small cooler in my van which I fill with ice every time I leave the house. While I am out I continually fill my mason jar with ice and before 10 minutes has passed it will be melted, leaving me with cold water that I gulp down and refill. Sometimes I treat myself to a bag of Sonic ice. Last Friday as I made the equatorial trek to my van I thought about pouring some of it over my head before I slid into the seat.
Friday night we had guests for dinner. This family is fairly new in town so we decided to extend the hand of hospitality. It was sure nice to get to know them and after a meal of Texas BBQ and homemade cookies we had a nice visit. Don’t you just love getting to know new people?! But you can be sure, I did not eat one single cookie. I was a good girl.
Saturday morning I took down my sad looking porch swing and decided to paint it. I got my new Homeright sprayer all ready and the paint stirred and the swing sanded and just as I was about to paint…..when one of my boys accidentally kicked over the cup full of paint that you attach to the sprayer and it all spilled. Paint party-over.
This was one of those moments that as a mother, I have to decide which way to go. Get all upset and make the kid feel bad for a while or smile and, while teaching a lesson by having him help clean it up, show the love of Christ. I wish I could say it was easy, but I was honestly torn. I mean, I had spent all morning preparing and I now I didn’t have enough paint to continue and he was so careless. Thankfully I pulled it together quickly and acted nice about it. I told him I forgave him and we cleaned it up, put all of the tools away and talked about being more careful.
But I’m changing the saying to, “Don’t cry over spilled paint.”
After my paint efforts went bust I did what any reasonable person would do. I took a 2 hour nap.
On Sunday I spent most of the day playing games with the kids and lounging in the pool. Four of them were in the pool with me, splashing around ruining a perfectly good floating-in-my-lounge-chair moment. The fourth time the inflatable ball flew past my head I couldn’t take it any longer. I grabbed it, lunged out of my float and started a hard core game of throwing the ball to make it splash on them. When no one was catching the ball I started wildly waving my arms and shouting, “Over here!! Throw it to me!!” while jumping up and down in front of one of the boys. When the ball came in my direction I would dive for it like one of those beach volleyball players….my whole body high into the air (this may be an exaggerated version from my imagination of what was actually happening) and landing with a SPLASH!
The kids looked at me like I had lost my ever-lovin’ mind. What happened to lounge-chair-Mom? I’ll tell you what happened. She got hit by one too many water gun blasts, that’s what. They were too shocked to react.
Oh well, I enjoyed it. What’s the fun of having kids if you can’t mess with their heads once in a while?
Plus I was getting exercise without sweating. Win-Win.
This week I’ll be getting ready to head to California for the Diamonds in the Rough Retreat. I’m putting the finishing touches on my Power Point slides and figuring out what to pack. It’s always a challenge getting everything I want to take into my little carry-on and light enough for me to lift into the overhead compartment. A light packer I am not.
Have a great week!
Be sure to check out my homeschool giveaway to win a one year course from Engaging Education!
I know that disappointment of a project gone awry. And you chose the right way to react – good for you! I know it’s hard and wish I could say that I always choose rightly….
Good for you too, inviting a new family over! That is a real blessing to everyone when we do that – the family invited and the family doing the inviting.
God Bless your week and your travels.
Here’s a small consolatory thought–sweating is a good way to detox. So all that work of perspiration is accomplishing something! 🙂
We will enjoy the dry heat of Palm Springs this weekend for sure! And I’m betting that we can lay by the pool without balls flying by our heads. But good for you for reacting with a positive spirit and joining in the fun!
Lisa,
I stumbled onto your blog when looking about modest clothing options. I am a Christian, and although I’ve never been part of a tradition that included wearing only dresses and skirts, I have been a more conservative dresser. I’ve been starting to consider wearing just dresses and skirts for the sake of modesty (and cost). I am also a new Texas gal – moved to Ft Worth in May so my husband can attend seminary. Your blog and all the pictures regarding modesty have been very uplifting to me. Please keep it up!
Years ago, we were having dinner with extended family, and when it was time to leave I had one of my children carry out the pan that I used for the homemade rolls. It was my grandmother’s roll pan…old and treasured. Well, said child put the pan on top of the van, unbeknownst to me. At some point it slid off the roof, and was ran over by a semi. (true story) I went on the highway and picked up my flat-as-a-pancake pan and took it home. I must admit, I wanted to leave ‘said child’ on the side of the road, or give a serious tongue lashing. The Lord spoke to me about that pan, and asked me if it was more important than my child. I had to deal with some deeper issues in my heart. I held onto that pan for years, in a place I could view often. It was His reminder to me about priorities and how to deal with my MOST TREASURED POSSESSIONS, my children. When the lesson became part of me, and my heart was truly changed, I was able to finally throw out the pan. You did well, Lisa, as always, remembering what’s really important.