The strangest thing happened last week. Three people asked me variations on the question, “So what the heck do you do anyway?” Seriously, three different people. This post is my retribution. Enjoy.
5:00 am: Have a scary dream that is – I believe – inspired by my new friends, Fawn & Michael. In it, both myself and my husband are flying helicopters. That’s right. Helicopters. And I realize, “Hey! I can’t fly a helicopter!” and wake up in fear and trembling.
5:22 As relief seeps into my real, human self, I decide that it’s dumb to wait til the alarm goes off in 8 minutes and I get up and start the coffee.
5:30 Check email and yep, I always have some…know why? Because I go to bed CRAZY early, that’s why. And people who have actual lives and get home from the actual places they actually go after 6:00 p.m., send me stuff at the late, late hour of 9:45 p.m. and I read it at 5:30 a.m. The rhythms of life are interesting.
5:45 My favorite time of the WHOLE day. Job, Psalms, Acts. I asked God a REALLY big question this morning. I didn’t get an answer yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
7:30 Take Tess to school. Would you think it was weird if I told you that every time I drop her off – every single time – I remember what it was like to be in middle school and it makes me feel sorry for her? Even though she has no ill will toward middle school, I still feel bad that she has to go. Silly.
8:00 Starbucks for my second coffee and a meeting with a friend. Except for the friend part because she can’t come…so I decide to write a little and enjoy the morning.
8:20 Just because it’s what I do, I text my husband and say, “I got stood up.”
8:30 Tori calls with big and urgent questions about women in ministry. Having survived a debate – she mostly wants to make sure she adequately defended the family honor. She did. She’s loyal like that.
8:32 Steve calls to say, “Let’s have breakfast at Jake’s”…an offer I would never in a million years refuse. Jake’s is…well, it defies description to those who don’t live in Bend. It’s a truck stop/diner/dive with cheap food served in stunning portions. (Those of you from Bend are invited to comment on the glory of Jake’s.)
8:33 Resume phone call with Tori, talking passionately about Deborah and Jael and Paul and Nympha for the whole two minutes it takes to get to Jake’s. (Those of you with a dog in the fight are invited to comment on women in ministry.)
8:43 Our omelet arrives: the “small” Hollandaise Surprise, also known as “Whitney’s Favorite”. We split it, me and the large man I married – and we know we’ll have some leftover at the end. It’s just gigantic.
8:47 Steve says, “I bet you’re happy this omelet has so many tomatoes.” I say “yes, indeed!”, but secretly think how I’m mostly happy that he remembers I like tomatoes. I love him for that.
9:15 Arrive at work, so happy someone else is teaching my Communications class, or I would not have had all that Hollandaise fun.
9:17 Discover my Pampered Chef order has arrived at my office…also discover that I have ordered something and have absolutely no idea what it is. No earthly idea.
9:19 Wander into the office next door with the mystery object to see if the ladies there might recognize it.
9:20 Leave defeated.
9:21 Return phone calls, send emails, work on some messages coming up this weekend and next month, book a speaking date for a ladies event. Deal with the fact that, for whatever reason, my computer speakers are on the blink once again which means that I can see Andy Stanley preach, but I can’t actually hear him. And hearing him is pretty much the point. If your speakers work, you can see and hear here. (Those of you who love or loathe Andy Stanley are invited to comment. Except not those of you who loathe him because that would not be nice.)
11:00 Katie, my evil assistant, brings me a rice krispy treat. We have about 397 of them leftover from a class and she’s trying to get rid of them. Also, one time I threw a Twinkie at her and she’s never forgiven me. Please send Katie therapy while I return to work.
12:10 Lunch at my desk. Who would have thought you could grind up raw tuna, roll it up in rice and seaweed and get people to pay $6 bucks for it? And who would have thought that the 6 bucks would be mine?
1:30 Meet with a young lady whose life story could be a riveting novel. She’s beautiful and amazing…and finally starting to believe it. I’m so proud of her and my Jesus.
2:00 Work. Work. Work. (these details are uninteresting or I would include them. I thought about making up something interesting but since I’m a pastor, that’s probably a bad idea. The two details that ARE true is that somewhere in the course of the afternoon I ate the stupid rice krispy treat and Katie threw another one on my desk. The woman has no moral compass.)
4:30 Home. Home. I love home. And I love working part time. Josiah wants a grilled cheese. What is it with kids and grilled cheese? Or ME and grilled cheese?
4:33 Tori calls again to try to figure out how to research an assignment on Dads and Daughters. We simultaneously google…there must be a word for simultaneously googling? Also, the fact that Tori called twice in one day? Remarkable!
4:43 The distinct smell of charcoal reminds me that Josiah’s cheese is most definitely GRILLED.
4:45 Scrape Joe’s sandwich and check my work email. Catch up on headlines and discover that the price of crude oil plunged to $67 per barrel. Text my husband: “We should be paying about .77 for gas by the end of the week.”
5:00 Call it a day…a silly day. Silly, silly, wonderful day.
What does your day look like?
Much wonderful love,
Bo
Well, in not as much detail as yours, here’s my day, generally (but not today, because most of it is in the future, so I don’t know what’s happened yet):
5:30 – Alarm, snooze.
5:38 – Alarm, snooze.
5:46 – Alarm, snooze. (Thoughts in Whitney’s head: Mom was up 20 minutes ago – I should get up.)
5:54 – Alarm, snooze. This is embarrassing.
6:02 – Walk to the closet, get my robe, go downstairs and hit the start button on the coffee pot (which I think is my absolute favorite part of the day), take inventory to make sure my house is all safe after the night time while I walk back upstairs to put in my contacts, brush my teeth, and put on foundation. It gives me a leap on the makeup situation for later.
6:10 – get my coffee, computer, blanket, open the blinds and sit upstairs on my couch. Read the Bible Reading while drinking my coffee, journal while the sunrises, then check my Amani email and mom’s blog.
7:00 – get ready for work.
7:25 – lean over my sleeping husband and say quietly “Hi honey, I love you! I’m awake and ready for work! I love you! Wanna get up with me?” and he squints at me and nods yes and goes “Mmm Hmm”. Then he does. That’s also the best part of my day.
7:50 – I head to work.
8:01 – I walk into work, say hi to my co-workers, and start on the day.
10:05 – working working working, Corey calls to make sure what time lunch is.
11:45 – meet Corey for lunch at home usually.
12:45 – back to work.
2:40 – Corey calls to make sure I’m doing alright and surviving whichever day it is.
4:45 – Can I go home yet???
5:00 – TIME TO GO HOME!
5:05 – Call Bo and tell her something we need to do for Amani.
5:15 – get home to my husband.
The rest of the day is usually history after that, but you can generally summarize that we have somewhere to be eventually that day, which bugs me, but it is the way life is. 🙂
So I guess that wasn’t as quickly summarized as I thought it would be. Oh well, maybe I’ll be a better summarizer sometime in the future. A girl can hope! 🙂
Whit
5:45 alarm goes off I pop out of bed singing! (or I push snooze.
5:55 alarm goes off again, my husband hits me:)
I get up!
6:00 Prayer/bible study/journal
6:55 look at my desk and sigh…wake up kids
7:00 get ready for the day, yelling time intervals to my kids so they are ready by 8:00
8:00 leave for school
8:25 arrive at school (I know 25 minutes to drive 8 miles, what is up with the indirect roads in Bend?)
8:30 sometimes a lovely coffee date with a lovely friend
9:00 work from home, change laundry, spin plates(I’m a pro)
9:00-2:30 really miss match of lives thrills and challenges. I’ve leared to just let go and let God. Accomplishing my tasks knowing that when I’m done, I did just what God had for me.
2:30 leave to get kids
3:00 pick up kids
3:30 start homework with kids
3:45-5:00 finish misc. tasks at work, start dinner, or order out!!! yea Order out! that is really what I do most. Where is my kitchen?
4:30-5:00 hungry husband arrives home, we eat, clean up
6:00 change laundry again, sweep, vaccum(yet every day because I have 3 dogs, 2 kids and a concrete man that live with me.
7:00 kids to bed, facebook fun sitting next to my husband on the couch with our 3 dogs, laptops on our laps. Kinda funny if you think about it!
9:00 if I’m extremely lucky….lights out!!!! but usually reading until 10:( Hard to not push snooze the next morning!
I love my life and will love it even more, I’m sure, when my house sells and I move 3 minutes from school and I gain 10 hours to my week not to mention millions in gas money!
Tracy
I made the executive decision on Friday at 2:30pm that I was taking Monday off – and emailed Jon he should do the same. Jon had the coffee ready this morning when I rolled out of bed at 6:45 (he’s awesome that way and so is the coffee he makes!) to take the kids to school. Spent some awesome time with God, then Jon and I were off to PB Drive Inn for our usual biscuits and gravy with hashbrowns…Yummmm! The bike ride to work off said breakfast from PBDI will be AFTER it warms up – and I need some time to just be lazy. This is a very good Monday indeed!
I actually have had the most crazy-amazing morning. I started to write it here, but my narative got way-too long, so I posted it on my own blog instead.
Bless you and yours.
Ann
Bo,
I made a fabulously-pumpkiny dessert yesterday with TJ’s pumpkin butter! I posted the recipe on my blog…you may want to try it (it has NO nutmeg what-so-ever!)!
Hitting the trails after too much dessert,
Anne
Hmmmm 5 to 5
5:00 – ZZZZZZZZ
7:15 – Wake up on my own, groan
7:16 – Contemplate sleeping more
7:18 – Hear the my computer in the studio beep which most likely means some client in another time zone needs something.
7:20 – Stare blankly at email
7:21 – Print script and then stare blankly again
7:30 – Sing a little to warm up my voice
7:50 – Actually record the script now that I no longer sound like a frog
8:01 – Edit out bloopers
8:05 – Upload to client. The net rocks!
8:07 – Warm up the flat iron
8:42 – Downstairs to make breakfast and get, set, or go depending on my mood.
9:30 – Leave for the office
9:32 – Stop at store on Butler Market for my morning carbonated caffeine since I’m so sleep deprived (insert sarcasm here)
9:35 – Arrive at office. Lock myself in sound proof room and stare at computer
9:37 – Talk to first salesperson of the day
9:39 – Put out first fire of the day
9:40 – Talk to second salesperson of the day
9:42 – Put out second fire of the day
9:44 – Talk to third salesperson of the day
9:46 – Put out third…. you get the idea. We have 12 salespeople.
10:21 – Coach client through a recording session
10:55 – Edit, music, voice, done
11:23 – Fun with sound effects
11:55 – Write, voice, edit
12:36 – Write, voice, edit
1:02 – Home for lunch
1:04 – Check email from laptop in kitchen
1:05 – Run upstairs to voice something else for a client in a different time zone
1:33 – Actually get to eat
2:02 – Back to the office
2:03 – Remember I haven’t recorded the 2 PM hour on-air yet. Freak. Run down hall.
2:03:24 – Back to office for headphones
2:03:47 – Back to studio just in time to plug in said headphones and do the transition live. Record three other breaks in hour.
2:14 – Back to office for Show Prep time. What exactly has happened in work in the last 24 hours? Oooo, woman tries to hold up bank dressed as a cow. PERFECT!
2:31 – Find it fascinating that women blink twice as much as men. Trivia question in there somewhere
2:47 – Salesperson asks daily question of whether or not I can record a client in about 10 minutes forgetting I go live in 13 minutes.
2:55 – Back down the hall to the on-air studio, a small mound of paper, giveaways in had, and favorite music CDs for background.
3:04 – Do first transition break into a Carrie Underwood song
3:04:15 – Wonder if Jesus Take the Wheel counts as a Christian song
3:07 – Know for sure that Beer in Mexico doesn’t
3:20 – Mention contest for later. Watch as lights go crazy on all four phone lines while people set their speed dials.
3:50 – Bubba Files. This is where said woman in the cow suit comes into play
3:55 – Do weather. Partly Cloudy with a chance of rain or snow. Central Oregon’s generic forecast. You’ll never be wrong
4:34 – Contest.
4:34:23 – Get correct caller and winner
4:49 – Finish telling callers I have my winner
4:50 – Play back winner on air
5:00 – Listen as station ID describes me as “definitely not the AVON LADY!”
5:00 nurse a baby while trying desperately to sleep through it in my bed
5:30 happily realize the baby ate and is sleeping once again! (good, good feeling for my tired, tired body)
8:00 happily realize the baby is STILL sleeping and my husband was sweet enough to get the kids downstairs and eating all without waking me (very light sleeper – so this is a big task)
8:15 run downstairs already dressed, make-up on, teeth brushed, and ready to tackle whatever breakfast mess awates me
9:00 by this time i have changed approximately 2 diapers and wiped at least one bottom (possibly 2). i now tackle dressing 4 small children, doing their hair, washing their faces, brushing their teeth, giving out whatever medicine goes with whatever kid. why is it that it takes me longer to get them ready than it takes me to get myself ready?
10:00 laundry, laundry, and more laundry. kids are fighting. time to find them something to do. fighting = boredom. trying to avoid mommy guilt as i wrestle with the idea of just letting them watch some sesame street until i get the house under control.
10:30 change a diaper. nurse a baby.
11:00 house is starting to look like i would not be too mortified if grandma walked in.
11:30 lunch already. didn’t i just clean up breakfast????
12:00 toddler to bed. by this time i am wondering if he is my child. he is being very obnoxious. remind myself that i will be swimming in love for him when he wakes up all kissy-face and huggy in a few hours. get other kids doing a pre-school-type activity. no more mommy guilt here!
12:30 lots and lots of laundry. checking off to-do list. it seems much longer than physically possible. yet none of it seems to be negotiable.
1:00 bigger kids to bedrooms to rest by themselves. seems like i might have a chance to breath now… but no. nurse baby. change another diaper. wonder how much of our trash consists of diapers every week. yuk.
1:30 talk to baby. this is too much fun. he giggles and laughs at all my jokes… funny or not.
2:00 take some time to pray and read my bible. kind of tired now. a little hard to concentrate. thanking the Lord he has some grace with me and nourishes me even with the small bits of food i take in some days. big kids ask if they can get up yet. NO. still rest time (obviously more important for me than for them at this point).
2:30 big kids up. little one up, too. change diaper. wipe more bottoms.
3:00 somewhere in here i am sure i nursed a baby again. and changed another diaper. it’s a big blur. turn on some talk show in the background so i can hear adult voices as i continue with my list. giving kids things to do. activities, computer games, reading them books, making up dumb pretend things to spark their imaginations and get them playing together withOUT fighting.
4:30 time to make dinner (although my list is not half done… I know what I’ll be doing once they’re all in bed). baby crying – wants to nurse – always wants to nurse when i am either trying to make or eat dinner.
5:30 dinner’s ready, kids are hungry, daddy’s not home yet. make executive decision to feed kids before daddy gets home. why drag out the torture for them or me? yet, no “family dinner” will happen tonight. should i have mommy guilt? who cares at this point about mommy guilt. we have all survived until 5:30 and this is all that matters right now.
6:00 daddy’s home! relief! help! but he’s hungry and wants to eat and the kitchen has, once again, been destroyed.
7:00 somehow, the house has been cleaned up and all children are in bed. biggest, best feeling in the whole world. will i finish the list? not a chance. do i care? not at all anymore.
Wow…all our lives are so different and so the same, you know? Isn’t that miraculous?
And I thought I was busy!!!