Keepin’ it Dizzy

Forgive me, Father, for I have procrastinated. It’s been three weeks since my last post.

I probably shouldn’t have publicly proclaimed a goal to write daily. I could say I’ve been writing daily and just not posting, but that would be a teensy-weensy, tiny, little stretch.

Okay, it would be a Mrs. Incredible (Elastigirl) stretch.

Fine. It would be a flat-out lie.

I haven’t written a word since my last post. You know – the one where I invited you to fasten your seat belts for the wild ride. If you ignore the lack of thrills and excitement, the last three weeks still fit into the “wild ride” category; I just neglected to bring you along.

{You’re welcome.}

Don’t worry; I won’t bore you with all the details now. I’ve already told you that “Dizzy-Stir” is synonymous with a typical day in my life. Suffice it to say the last three weeks have lived up to the hype. I’ll just hit you with a few highlights:

I made two separate impromptu trips to Loveland, CO to visit and help with my 95-year-old grandmother who was going into hospice. My aunt is her primary caregiver and needed help. That’s an eight-hour drive, one way. These two trips are actually the second and third trips since September.

After the second run to Colorado, I planned a trip to Austin to see my younger brother and his family and afterwards swing down to Houston for my friend Pamela Fagan Hutchins’ launch party for her first novel, Saving Grace. That trip was canceled when another visit to Colorado was required.

Just before the third trek to Grandma’s I had an allergic reaction (or something) that left my face swollen around my eyes and cheekbones. I looked like I’d been beaten up. I went to my doctor the day before we left for Colorado. After a couple of days with no improvement, I went to an Urgent Care facility in Loveland. Questions were asked, shoulders were shrugged, and meds were prescribed. It took a week for the swelling to go down, another week for the crackly leather-face look to fade, and the cause was never determined.

No one suspected spousal abuse. {Your secret is safe, honey}.

Kidding. But sister abuse hasn’t been completely ruled out. That third trip to Colorado was made with my sister, Robin. Every morning my face looked worse than it did the night before. She appeared to be lovingly concerned when she made sure I took the meds that would help me sleep. The theory is she took out all her childhood grudges on my face while I slept defenselessly.

Again, I’m kidding. {But then again, she did laugh every time she looked at me…}

In between the jaunts out-of-state, I’ve stumbled through my days fully caffeinated, struggling with things like trying to stay connected with a husband working on a thirteen-hour night shift (plus two hours of driving time), making the transition from public school to home school for my two teenagers {hold me}, helping my other almost-94-year-old grandma once a week, going to multiple medical appointments with one of my parents, periodic house-cleaning for another parent, and all the other daily grinds like laundry, groceries, bills, errands, etc.

It may or may not surprise you to know that much more than my writing has been neglected. I’m a month behind the group I joined for a 90-day plan for reading through the Bible. I’ve missed the last two of three weeks of the new Bible study group I joined. Ironically, it’s a group study of the book Stressed-Less Living by Tracie Miles. The subtitle is Finding God’s Peace in Your Chaotic World.  I’m guessing this book and group will be time well-spent when I finally manage to get there.

My house is a wreck. My suburban is screaming for maintenance and tires. My dishwasher is broken. My washing machine is leaking. My dark roots are showing. My eyebrows need tweezing. My dogs need shots. Canceled appointments need rescheduling. I’ve missed birthdays and I’ve neglected friends.

I could go on, but then you’d see that my “need-to-do” list consistently remains longer than my “done” list. Don’t even ask about my “want-to-do” list. It’s chronically starving for time, attention, and energy.

Oh, attempts have been made to mark items off the “want-to-do” list. Really.

For example, I did manage to read and review my fourth Pamela Fagan Hutchins book a week or so ago. While I enjoyed the entertainment and reaped some momentary satisfaction at accomplishing such, my next post will show you just how laborious relaxing with a good book can be around here. =)

UPDATE: My plan was to post this and my next post at the same time. There might be a slight delay in the next post because I’m actually in Colorado again. There’s a good chance this will be the last time I see my precious Grandmother.