Category Archives: First World Problems

Thursdays are the new Friday

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Thursdays have always been our Fridays here at The Ball Room. The Music Man is a pastor which means Sundays are the start of his work week. I also try very hard to stick to a Monday through Thursday school week at The Ball Room Academy.

Fridays are sacred. They’re special. And I guard them with my life.

Fridays are for fun. They’re for field trips and shopping excursions. They’re for playing at the park and eating ice cream for lunch. They’re for family and reconnecting after a long week going in different directions. They’re laid back and relaxing.

Because Fridays are so special, Thursdays have become special too. They are the Friday night. They’re made for pizza dinners, movies, and staying up late. They’re the kickoff. The start to our weekend.

A couple years ago, the only dance class available for The Girl was on Thursday nights. Oh, we fought that one, hard! But in the end, she went to dance every Thursday night for two years.

I saw our Thursdays change during that time. They became more like the other nights of the week. Hectic. Rushed. No more pizza dinners. No more movie nights. Bedtime was still late but not because of fun family time.

Last fall, dance was moved to Friday nights. We got Thursdays back at the costly price of Fridays. Now I’ve had to watch our Fridays disappear. The Music Man has more and more weddings, projects, and commitments that take him away from us on Fridays. The Girl often has school work to finish up. It’s a rarity that we go for fun excursions anymore on Fridays. And always if we do we need to be back in time for dance. Rush. Rush. Rush.

It’s Thursday today and we haven’t really started our day yet. We’ve eaten breakfast, of course, and all are in various states of being dressed. We’ll get to school soon. But it feels a bit laid back because it is Thursday after all and that means its our Friday.

I still feel the same excitement on Thursdays that the weekend is here. Then I remember that our life has changed. Our family has had to adopt a new normal.

We have no plans for tomorrow other than to finish up some science and dance of course. (We do have a recital in just a few short weeks.) The guys will be here in the evening to work on the basement. We’re getting so close… But I still long for those carefree Fridays on Thursdays. The giant brunches and leisurely strolls around the mall. Road trips for fun field trips. A trip to the beach. A big relaxing dinner out and a movie on the couch after the babies are in bed.

I don’t know if those days will be a part of our lives again. Perhaps it was ours for just a season. Life has gotten so crazy and busy. I feel the need to slow down growing stronger each week. To stop and play outside more. To laugh and tickle The Baby. To soak up every moment. To live our days of family fun in slow motion.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Who feels this strong sense of urgency to stop and savor each moment?

Because if life has gotten this busy and crazy in such a short time, what does the next year hold for us? Or the year after? What will happen when we have three children involved in extracurricular activities rather than just one? Will The Music Man’s commitments continue to require more and more of his time?

Will it ever end? The busy-ness?

How do I make it all slow down?

First World Problems

Posted in Deep Thoughts, First World Problems by

It’s taken me a while to turn my thoughts to this baby…life as it is now has been crazy and busy and all-together more than I can handle at times. Around 30 weeks I realized how soon this babe would be here and began to prepare…sort of. It was like everyday I would become fixated on some that I HAD to have for the baby or something I HAD to do before she comes, but none of it was of any real importance. I wasn’t really preparing. I was stalling by filling my every thought with things I thought I needed.

The Internet is a wonderland for the creative senses. Options are seemingly endless. For the right price you can get just about anything. eBay, Etsy, and Pinterest are incredible places to shop and brainstorm. I was looking at hats, car seat covers, canopies, Robeez, etc. I picked out all my favorites and planned when I would order them so as to not blow up the checkbook all at once.

The one thing I’ve been fixated on more than any other has been a new car seat cover. Ours is perfectly fine, but it’s brown, khaki, and yellow. It screamed BOY!!!! to me. I wanted something completely girlie and gorgeous for this last baby of ours. I found this adorable cover at a reasonable price. The seller was even willing to customize it for me with the colors I wanted and make it to fit perfectly on my car seat.

Then the other night my carefully laid plans began to unravel. I had ordered the canopy pattern and had all the materials I needed to get started on it. The Music Man pulled out the car seat so I could measure it. That’s when I saw that our seat was not the one that I thought it was. We didn’t have a Graco. We had an Evenflo.

I was already emotional and this put me over the edge. I had been so fixated, mildly obsessed even, that this mistake (on MY part) caused me to lose it. Completely. As I sat on the floor in front of the car seat crying all I could think of was the millions of mothers around the world who just hope and pray for healthy, full-term babies and the strength and provision to care for them once they’re born and here I am crying because the car seat cover I want may not be exactly the way I wanted it to be. What a First World Problem!

That’s a First World Problem.

That’s a phrase that gets said alot around our house lately. It’s our way of reminding ourselves and our kids that most of this world is just struggling to have food and clean water. It keeps our “problems” in perspective.

A few examples of First World Problems:

As I sat on my basement floor thinking about when had I grown so oblivious to reality, I realized that none of it mattered to me.  I had a perfectly good car seat with a great cover that would work beautifully for my little girl regardless of what color is was.  I asked God to forgive me for being so selfish and ignoring His heart for the world.  In an instant the insanity that had been my obsessive fixation on a new car seat cover was gone and I was ok with it!  I felt the weight of a thousand pounds lift off my shoulders.  And I haven’t thought about it since.

This is my experience.  I’m not saying that you are ignoring starving children in Bangladesh if you buy a new car seat cover for your little one.  I just know what the Lord was asking of ME and I responded to that.  You need to be obedient to what He asks of you which may be very different than what He asks of me.  I just encourage you to keep your heart close to His so that as He reveals His world to you, you are ready, willing, and able to do what His bidding.

But keep in mind the blessings we live under in our great nation, where things like this bring such joy to an otherwise dreary day. While extremely entertaining, it’s definitely a First World thing.