Are you an angry bird?

Today was a challenging one... and I write this at 2:32 in the afternoon, which for some of you, may mean you've been rolling for just few hours.  For people like my husband, the day is already 12 hours long.  Regardless, I am just admitting that it started out challenging and just kept on going.  Not really anything catastrophic, but rather, situation after situation that required me to search within myself to get through.  Waking up late and not having my son's lunch packed, running to the bus stop in God knows what clothing and realzing I'm sloshing my 30 lb toddler on my hip... with, a very poopy diaper.  (Stay with me... I'm getting to my point.)  I decided to stay at home instead of head to the gym after listening to my 5 year old complain that he never gets to play with me.  Yeah, we know where that is headed... by 11:30 I am frustrated, haven't gotten out of the front door, the house is trashed, I haven't worked out and got about 11 minutes of quality play time with my son.

To top it off I quickly kiss my Kindergarten son off to the bus for his school day and then dash behind him in my car because I agreed to volunteer in his classroom twice a month.  Never fails, I get the messy projects.  At least it wasn't frosting sugar cookies... THAT literally gives me cold sweats.  Close, however... I am helping 5 year olds watercolor their fall leaves they cut out of paper.  Right.  Only half of them know how to use a paintbrush.  One doesn't want to get her sweater dirty.  One boy wants new water every time he dips his brush.  Did I mention that I'm also supervising my 25 month toddler and asking him to not disrupt the class while they have independent reading.   And how exactly am I to do that when my shape and color-obsessed toddler is running around the classroom, squealing in delight, shouting out "diamond, circle and triangle?"  WHAT WAS I THINKING????

I treated myself to a (sloooowwww) run on the treadmill this afternoon and heard a podcast about the importance of pillars in a building; a pillar representing one of your true values.  If the pillar gets knocked over or becomes weak, the whole building crumbles.  I got a visual of the game Angry Birds and chuckled thinking of how good my 5 year old is at angling that slingshot and launching those birds right into the concrete and wood buildings... watching them slowly teeter, wobble and fall... crashing into rubble.  Now, my SON playing is not the point of this rant.  When I play Angry Birds... I aim as best I can but the darn bird just ends up lightly thumping the concrete and rolling back over, having hit their head on the cement... not really affecting the integrity of the structure at all... in fact, I swear those stinkin pigs are laughing at me.

Are you still tracking me?  The point is... its important to identify what your "pillars" are... and what your "angry birds" look like.  Your pillars should represent the things that make you "YOU."  Your values, beliefs, dreams, and goals.  Your angry birds should be the things you end up doing with your time.  We all have the exact same amount of time... no matter your status, wealth or accolades, we're all on an even playing field.  So is what you are doing with your time knocking over the walls of who you are?  Circle back to my morning... I filled it with "works" and "tasks" that I don't particularly enjoy doing.  We do it all the time...and most of us justify it quite well.  "I really should be in my child's classroom."  "It's just one morning a month."  "They needed volunteers."  Listen... if you don't get a kick out of doing it, then get out.  Now, because I know this could start a rash of EVERY mom backing out of EVERYTHING then I will say... sometimes we should do a few things we don't "feel" like doing because the world needs our helping hands... but in general, every time you add something to your plate that doesn't match up with the dreams and desires God placed in your heart... you run the potential of that very thing becoming the angry bird that knocks your wall down.  The result?  Burnt out, bummed out, tired and frustrated.

Hopefully this will get you thinking.  I encourage you to write down all of the commitments you have in your life.  Then make a column... they either go on the "brings joy" category or "downer" category.  See if you can't realign some of your activities to find the ones that you are not only gifted to do, but bring you joy, energy and a sense of satisfaction!