The Loaded Gun

By Lisa Swinton

We're all busy. This isn't news.

But lately I've felt like someone's got a loaded gun pointed at my head and if I can't get my TO DO list done on time then that person is going to pull the trigger. 

This is a two fold problem. 

First, I can't concentrate when I feel like the weight of the world on my chest is impeding my ability to breathe, and this makes me less productive. 

Second, if the trigger is pulled, at least I won't have to worry about the TO DO list anymore. 

Correction, it's a three fold problem. 

I'm not ready to die. I've got to much I want to cross of my TO DO list. Sigh. 

Maybe I feel this way because it's the end of the school year. 

Yes, really. My kids finished school on June 18. So, Summer really starts TODAY for us. While many of you have already had weeks of vacation, we here in Maryland have had to make up a slew of snow days. 

But summer isn't slowing down. There's swim team. My kids and I are in a production of The Music Man. There's also Vacation Bible School, Lacrosse camp, basketball camp, two family vacations, a mom & daughter vacation to NYC, youth conference to chaperone, and girls camp to lead that go in the mix as well. There will only be one week of the entire summer where nothing is happening and that's the week before school starts, which is exactly when I expect my daughter to go into full blow panic about starting middle school. Oh, and I'm trying to finish up the last of prepping my next novel for publication in September. 

Yes, I'm out of balance. Yes, many of the things on our summer list are good things. Some are needful. Some are about service. Some are supposed to be restful. But right now, I just don't feel it. 

What's a girl to do? 

I can do what we women usually do, grit my teeth and barrel through to the end. (Not so fun.) 

Or, I can let go, take a breath and remember that all will be well. All will work out. We can have a calm, positive, relaxing summer while sharing warm family moments amid the self inflicted crazy. 

The "bear" attitude I carry will just make everyone else cranky. 

The "grace" attitude I carry will make life smoother for us all. 

As the Mom, my attitude affects all in my home. If I want my home to be happy/a place of refuge, then I have to be the one to set the tone.  

What ideas do you have to keep peace in your home when school is out and or how to regain balance when you feel off kilter?