I think too often I hope for things to change, but I don’t put in the effort to change the things I want to see changed.
I am a woman who can do hard things, so why don’t I just go ahead and truly DO them already?
In my marriage we’re coming out of a season of necessity where my husband has worked a lot of overtime (praise God, because we are now able to justify purchasing new flooring), and I have had a million meetings a week for as many weeks as I can remember. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for fun. I said the other night that I hope to see the fun come back around.
Well, instead of just hoping to have more time for being playful and going on dates I’m adjusting my schedule to make it happen.
When hoping isn’t changing it, it’s time to try something different.
As a mom I hope to do more read alouds with my kids and offer them more hands on projects. I keep writing in my planner that we should do it, and making mental notes of all the fun things I spot when I’m scrolling my Facebook newsfeed or browsing the #homeschool hashtag on Instagram. But then I don’t actually do it. I’m excited by the ideas, but my follow through is weak.
I want to become a better friend; I hope to someday feel like I’m ‘best friend’ material. Right now though, in this stage, I feel so pulled in every direction that I have trouble reaching out and putting in the energy to go deep (and to be sure it’s well received- that’s the tricky part). It’s hard to justify a night out with the girls or an afternoon coffee date when I have a mountain of laundry to do, deadlines to meet, and little people relying on me for food and entertainment every few hours. I hope to get better at this.
I hope to be a better community member and support our town in amazing ways that bring growth and inspire people to call this place home. I want people to feel like they really belong here, and that they add value. The problem is that somedays life is so hard to balance within the walls of my own home that the idea of taking on the whole town is too much to bear. I won’t stop hoping.
I have hoped to start a small life group for years. I’ve tried and failed. That really sucks to admit. After a conversation at our monthly Supper Club this week I have decided I’m going to quit hoping for my perfect small group and I’m going to just start assuming that everyone is a part of my small group and treat people that way.
What are you hoping to see changed? What can you DO to facilitate that change?
Are you wondering what’s up with the bathtub picture? It’s a great big beautiful jet tub in our master bathroom that I had HOPED (begged) for when we built our home. After about 5 years that it wasn’t a part of my dream anymore and I spent the next 5 years hoping to have it removed.
We just didn’t use it enough to justify the space it took up, and the amount of water it used killed me. We really take clean water for granted here in the U.S.
One day we quit hoping, and with the help of friends we just took it out! It took a little work and about $500, but we turned that space into a laundry center, and transformed our old laundry room into a mudroom. Ahh, I love it! It may not be ideal for everyone, but that was one change that I hoped for and thanks to Mr. Awesome, it happened!
I’m so grateful for a husband that is so gracious to let me edit this home, and my life, again and again.
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