Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Yesterday I felt like I was finally back to our school schedule even though my seven-year-old, Mika, did not have school. Mika and I started the day like most Monday mornings. We recorded videos for her YouTube channel. Mika was scheduled for a play date, but our friends emailed me Sunday night to let me know they were sick. One of Mika’s other friends was going to take some of the books I have ready to donate, so I called her mom and asked her if the friend could come over.
The mom told me she had just been asked to have lunch with a friend to discuss business and asked if I could keep her daughter until her lunch was over. I agreed and Mika had a play date after all. Mika’s friend started by sorting through my storage bucket and box of paperbacks. I told her one of the Piers Anthony series that started with A Spell for Chameleon would be the best series to start with; the series seemed to be more geared to a younger audience as it progressed. I was so happy to see seven grocery bags full of books go to a home where I knew they would be appreciated during the next few years.
My helper comes on Mondays and Thursdays, and her birthday is this Thursday. My helper asked if she could bring cupcakes since Mika would be here while she was here and the four of us had a little cupcake party. My helper made up a birthday song that the girls sang to her. The girls tried, but it was mostly my helper who sang the song. It was a beautiful song and I recorded it so Mika can memorize it for future use.
While Mika played with her friend, my helper and I got started putting away some of the items that were skipped when my volunteers were here last week. It is illegal to throw electronics in the trash in Colorado. I had some heaters we had discovered on Thursday that had quit working and had missed the last trip to electronics recycling and today we labeled a storage bucket that has not yet found a lid “electronic recycling” and now I have a designated place to put non-functioning electronics until we make a trip to the electronics recycling center.
I do not have any scheduled volunteers for tomorrow, the day I was available to accept help, so my helper is coming Wednesday instead of Thursday. Thursday is her birthday and she would like to do something special with her husband and probably just relax. The job I had before I started my business had our birthdays as a paid holiday. It was a nice perk to have. I am not allowed to pay my helper for a day off due to program rules, but I can switch her workday, so she at least gets the day off.
Next week I might get out of sorts again because I have volunteers coming both of the days I made available for volunteers and it makes my schedule feel wonky. I have two volunteers on each day instead of one each day like last week. I am thrilled with the results, but it is a serious time commitment. I know I need to have the volunteers help me; however, it is taking me way out of my comfort zone. I am embarrassed to have my friends see all my accumulated junk.
I know my friends are not judging me (and if they were judging me, I would not care). They would still be my friends if I had twice as many unused items to sort through. I am embarrassed because I let myself down. At the end of the day, I am alone with myself and I need to respect who I am. When I look at my mess, I feel less competent as a person.
My piece of advice to you is to step outside your comfort zone. Do I want people here sorting through my undies and unmentionables? No. I want to do it myself. If I wait for me, the task will never get done; when my friends come to help me, at least we have fun.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Yesterday I felt like I was finally back to our school schedule even though my seven-year-old, Mika, did not have school. Mika and I started the day like most Monday mornings. We recorded videos for her YouTube channel. Mika was scheduled for a play date, but our friends emailed me Sunday night to let me know they were sick. One of Mika’s other friends was going to take some of the books I have ready to donate, so I called her mom and asked her if the friend could come over.
The mom told me she had just been asked to have lunch with a friend to discuss business and asked if I could keep her daughter until her lunch was over. I agreed and Mika had a play date after all. Mika’s friend started by sorting through my storage bucket and box of paperbacks. I told her one of the Piers Anthony series that started with A Spell for Chameleon would be the best series to start with; the series seemed to be more geared to a younger audience as it progressed. I was so happy to see seven grocery bags full of books go to a home where I knew they would be appreciated during the next few years.
My helper comes on Mondays and Thursdays, and her birthday is this Thursday. My helper asked if she could bring cupcakes since Mika would be here while she was here and the four of us had a little cupcake party. My helper made up a birthday song that the girls sang to her. The girls tried, but it was mostly my helper who sang the song. It was a beautiful song and I recorded it so Mika can memorize it for future use.
While Mika played with her friend, my helper and I got started putting away some of the items that were skipped when my volunteers were here last week. It is illegal to throw electronics in the trash in Colorado. I had some heaters we had discovered on Thursday that had quit working and had missed the last trip to electronics recycling and today we labeled a storage bucket that has not yet found a lid “electronic recycling” and now I have a designated place to put non-functioning electronics until we make a trip to the electronics recycling center.
I do not have any scheduled volunteers for tomorrow, the day I was available to accept help, so my helper is coming Wednesday instead of Thursday. Thursday is her birthday and she would like to do something special with her husband and probably just relax. The job I had before I started my business had our birthdays as a paid holiday. It was a nice perk to have. I am not allowed to pay my helper for a day off due to program rules, but I can switch her workday, so she at least gets the day off.
Next week I might get out of sorts again because I have volunteers coming both of the days I made available for volunteers and it makes my schedule feel wonky. I have two volunteers on each day instead of one each day like last week. I am thrilled with the results, but it is a serious time commitment. I know I need to have the volunteers help me; however, it is taking me way out of my comfort zone. I am embarrassed to have my friends see all my accumulated junk.
I know my friends are not judging me (and if they were judging me, I would not care). They would still be my friends if I had twice as many unused items to sort through. I am embarrassed because I let myself down. At the end of the day, I am alone with myself and I need to respect who I am. When I look at my mess, I feel less competent as a person.
My piece of advice to you is to step outside your comfort zone. Do I want people here sorting through my undies and unmentionables? No. I want to do it myself. If I wait for me, the task will never get done; when my friends come to help me, at least we have fun.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.