Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

 

I’m currently sitting in a hotel lobby — the sun shining through the blinds with the sound of the Austin, Texas, traffic muffled in the background. Last week I was struggling. I was always a few steps behind. Today, just 24 hours after my arrival to Texas, I already feel the decompression taking place.

To better capture the level of chaos I was living in just days ago, let me paint a picture for you.

It’s Monday, the day before my flight. I go to work like usual. Then I run my errands, because I’m taking a trip and there are still things I haven’t purchased yet. I’m not going to see my husband for almost a week, so I wanted to have a little date before we parted ways. We quickly run off to grab some yummy food. When we return, the kids need baths and snuggles and books because I’m also not going to see them for almost a week. It’s about 8:30 p.m. before everything settles down.

Now it’s time to pack. Yes, I haven’t packed yet. I did, however, do most of the laundry, so I have that going for me. It’s 10:30 p.m., and I go into the bathroom to start coloring my hair. Our plane takes off pretty early, so I know that we need to leave town about 5:30 a.m. As I’m running around with hair color on my head gathering the last of the items, this future lack of sleep is looming over me. It’s after 1 a.m. when I finally crawl into bed. My alarm is set for 4:40 a.m.

Those two paragraphs are my life. Typing it out and seeing all the last-minute stuff I was trying to squeeze into my every day, it was a lot. No wonder I was tired all the time and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Twenty-four hours is all I’ve had to myself. I’ve eaten two delicious meals that I didn’t have to share, two meals that I was able to eat hot and order exactly how I wanted without fear that a kid might not like it. I’ve been able to relax at the pool. I was able to go into the water and not carry anyone or watch anyone do a special trick. I went into the water when I wanted and sat in my lounge chair when I wanted. I allowed my desire to determine when it was time to head back to the room.

I’ve been able to watch TV. That might sound dumb, but apparently a little mindless television is good for my soul. Don’t get me wrong, I watch TV at home. My husband and I try to sneak in a show or two after the kids are in bed (as long as I’m home before he goes to bed). But I watched an entire episode of “America’s Got Talent” without interruption. I actually got to feel the joy and pain of the people participating. I might have even teared up a bit. This morning I discovered this wickedly addictive show called “Revenge Body” on E!. I love a good transformation story.

Let me set the record straight. I love my life. I love being a wife and mother and all the other things I am to all the various people in my life. However, this change in pace is beyond refreshing. I was going at a breakneck speed that could not be maintained. Even though it has only been a day I can see where I need to buckle down and what I need to relinquish from my hold. I’m also mentally preparing how I’m going to achieve my revenge body — this show really got into my head. I’ll start after this trip, of course. I’m not going to get all crazy and deny myself the delicious barbecue and tacos Texas has to offer, obviously.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams.