Being in the moment

Right now, sitting in front of my computer at 11:21 a.m., my to-do list is swallowing me up and choking the life out of me. 

I often feel like I could get it all done if I had just ONE day alone. ONE day of utter concentration, no distractions, no kid, no phone, no husband, just me and this mess of a house and life. 

Would that really happen though? Chances are, I'd probably waste the day away blogging, catching up on Facebook or the like. Or I'd get busy "trying" to be productive and get lost in the stack of year-old magazines flipping through and cutting out recipes or things to make/do. 

I need to face it. I'm probably NEVER going to have ONE day of utter un-busyness. Life is not that way. I've got to work with what I have, realize my strengths, curb my weaknesses, and move on. 

Procrastination is one of my major weaknesses, as is overcomplicating things. My brain gets going one-hundred miles a minute, and I can't even start to keep up. The irony of procrastination is that I think I'm putting things off to enjoy the time I have at the moment, but the procrastination just creates more to do in the long run and the things I haven't done eat at me during the time I'm enjoying "the moment," so I'm not really enjoying it at all. 

My very wise and uber-productive husband has diagnosed me with a condition termed "paralysis by analysis." It basically means I'm not getting anything done because I spend too much time analyzing how to get something done (e.g., trying to look at all the brands of a food to see which one's cheapest, planning to redecorate a whole room when all it really needs is a good vacuuming, etc.). I spend SO much time thinking about things I want to do and very little "real" time doing them. The plans in my mind are grand, I tell ya. 

My Superman of a husband just gave me this wonderful advice via email:  "Focus on checking off your to-do list as you accomplish tasks, but don't think about the next tasks while you're completing the current one.  STAY in the moment." I asked him for prayer because I am lacking motivation, but have tons to do. What a wise man. He knows the lazy, procrastinating me and loves me anyway. 

So, with that grand advice, I'm off to start my day. Yep, at noon. Hey, it ain't pretty, but it's honest. That's life. 

Anyone have any tips/tools/tricks for getting more done during the day? Mantras you live by? Scheduling musts? I'm in dire need of anything I can get my hands on as motivation and structure for my day. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants gal, and that doesn't jive with being a stay-at-home mom. Reason numero uno why I cannot homeschool. Our days would look like a Jackson Pollock painting. 

Send help, please. And a dozen donuts. OK, just kidding about the donuts. Not really. 

Thankful on Paper, Week 2: My better half

*My grandfather sang this song at our wedding. As soon as I sat down to begin gushing about my one-and-only, I was reminded of this moment in our wedding. This song is so special. It says exactly how I felt then, how I feel now, how I'll feel always.


It's Week #2 of Thankful on Paper and it's a doozie for me. It's time to thank the most incredible man I've ever known and I'm overwhelmed with stress in thinking I cannot find enough words to do him the justice he truly deserves for the man he is. Along with his vast amount of admirable qualities, my hubby is humble, so I'll spare him a bit and just refer to him as "G." 


G and I met half of our lifetime ago, at the age of 17. We worked at an amusement park, where he was a sweeper and I was a balloon girl. He loves to tell people this story and then add the line "I swept her off her feet." Ba dum bum! ;) Did I mention he's a comedian?


To spare the long and winding details of our road to marriage, I'll keep it brief and say that we dated on and off for seven years before deciding we couldn't stop God and making it official in year eight. 


We've now been married nearly 10 years, and my heart can barely contain all the love I have for this man of mine. 


Enough exposition, let me tell you why he's a keeper!


G is my honest-to-God soulmate. He is it for me and I for him. We're like peas and carrots. Seriously. He's actually the only person I think who truly knows me in and out. When we're standing barefoot, I fit just perfectly underneath his arm. We fit. We work. We're a team.


Knowing me as G does is no easy feat, and he takes it in stride. He knows me angry. He knows me ugly. He knows me bratty. He knows ME. He's seen my kind of crazy and he accepts it. He not only accepts it, he bought a daily subscription to it when he signed the marriage license. It's legit. I'm pretty sure there are days where he thinks, "What the heck did I sign up for?" but he's never let me know it. Not once. 


He's my hero. He has rescued me from myself more times than I care to count. He's also other people's hero. I've never come across a better friend than him. He cares genuinely for people and their circumstances. He's found/gotten jobs for people, he's given money to people, he's given housing to people. There's not much he won't do if it can help someone else. I often wonder how he walks so swiftly carrying that huge heart around in his chest. 


He is ambitious and driven, but he doesn't let it consume him. He works SO very hard in a high-stress job, but his countenance is consistent every time he walks through our front door after work. He's smiling. It doesn't matter what happened that day. He's smiling. He's happy to see his family and get to spend some time with us. That's admirable. 


He's funny. Real funny. Not funny queer. Funny haha. He has a loud voice and an even more booming, boisterous laugh. I recall seeing Ace Ventura with him for the first time in high school and being riveted by his laugh. It's contagious. It brings joy. 


He's authentic. He's the real deal. What you see is what you get. I often compliment him because he can say anything to anyone and get away with it. Because they know it's from the heart. 


He takes care of us. GOOD care of us. We are blessed by a life that is beyond anything I could've imagined in my wildest dreams. He works hard so I can stay home, raising our boy (and hopefully more to come). 


He gave me my son. My pride and joy. My burst of energy topped with a mess of blonde curls and the kind of blue eyes that make girls melt. I pray he turns out more like his father than like me. 


G is a picture of Christ to me. He loves God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind. And it shows. He's a wonderful example. He is a man of prayer and faith. I can't tell you how awesome that is. He's so encouraging. Just today, he told me, "Try to get in the word today, at least one chapter. God wants to speak to you." It's beautiful to have that kind of encouragement. 


I don't know if I'll ever figure out what I did to deserve such a prize. One thing's for sure though: I've got my prize, I'm greedy, and I'm not letting him go. Ever. 


I'll be loving him always. With a love that's true. Always. Not for just an hour. Not for just a day. Not for just a year. But always.