Today’s writing prompt from The Daily Post is on “Survival”. I have had my fair share of survival moments in my adult life, but today I don’t feel like going deep. Today I’m going to admit that I have unnecessarily thrown my emotions into survival mode and as a result I have been a pretty crappy wife the past 5 days.
My little corner of the web here started as a place to journal how I was trying to be a slightly better wife, because my marriage really was in survival mode at the time. Thankfully we have left that place, and we’re in a new territory now.
So as you know, last Friday I ripped out the carpet because I was so excited about our new flooring coming. I didn’t plan; I didn’t think about the process, I just did the part I wanted to do. Then I sat back and waited for Mr. Awesome to do the rest, because he always does.
I can’t even tell you how many times he bails me out from the hot water I get myself into. I am beyond blessed to be married to someone with a seemingly unlimited amount of patience, since mine usually sits somewhere around 12% and rarely gets fully charged (unless I get an afternoon to sit in the sun & read in the backyard, then I’m like on a fast charge and hit 100% within an hour).
Well I assumed the carpet would come out Friday and the new flooring would go in on Saturday. I didn’t know about the process.
Sometimes my impulsiveness can be a good thing, because I’m not an over-thinker, but honestly most of the time it isn’t ideal.
Since the new flooring wasn’t installed by Sunday (we’re doing it ourselves) and I had already ripped up the flooring and packed all of our furniture and belongings away, I threw myself into survival mode.
I started getting snippy over everything and acting like I couldn’t even shower because things were so serious.
It’s pathetic how I reacted.
I lost sight of what makes a house a home. It’s the people within the walls, not the walls and floor themselves.
Today I did what I do everywhere else we go, I created a “home”.
When the kids were little and we’d go somewhere I’d pack a small bag of necessities and a blanket. When we’d arrive I’d throw down a blanket and make a temporary “home”. It was just natural, I did it without even thinking.
I don’t know why I didn’t do that here, in our own home.
Rather than complaining about not having a table to eat at (even though we have a counter with stools), I brought the table in off our deck, and brought up some folding chairs that can be easily tucked away when we’re ready. I washed the counters and had supper ready on time.
I pulled off trim boards and the kids and I removed the carpet in the hallway. I ordered a dumpster and I basically just got over myself.
Guess what? My new found gratitude helped motivate my husband! Good thing, because my crankiness had NOT been doing the trick.
Sometimes I just forget how lucky we are to live here, and how lucky I am that the worst of my problems today is that I have plywood under my feet instead of some designer flooring.
I mean I have over 10 pairs of shoes to pick from to wear upon that plywood; this is not what survival mode looks like.
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