Priorities

Yesterday, driving with my husband to school because I had overslept and missed my train, I made a desperate prayer request. It wasn't one of those confident, happy prayers where you are focused on the awesomeness of God, or praying for poor displaced Haitians, or for your extended family to go to church. I just asked God to let me sign the attendance sheet.

Walking into class 20 minutes late, out of breath and loaded down with stuff, I slipped into my seat, trying not to draw too much attention to myself. At my spot in the middle row was the attendance sheet, signed by everyone but me, with a pen sitting on top of it.

It may seem silly, but this felt like a turning point for me. It seems like every time I get down, feel overwhelmed, disconnected from the spiritual, God just pokes at my heart and reminds me that I'm not running this race alone.

When Greg got home he had also been thinking about ways to get out of this rat-race mentality we've been stuck in lately. I pulled out The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which, to be honest, isn't the most entertaining or clearly written self-help book, and I've only ever been able to really skim it. But I remembered something useful from this book about priorities. The author's point was that we spend most of our time doing really mundane but pressing things. We typically will give priority to tasks that are urgent and unimportant over tasks that are less pressing but progress our longer-term goals.

So this is my goal for today: To do what I need to do today without sweating the details. I have to take Henry to the doctor, and apply for the bar, and study for finals, and Greg has to find a job. And there are a million decision I have to make for our family. But today, I don't have to worry about any of that. I have to go to class and take a tax test in order to volunteer to do taxes for people in Newark. That's it. That's all I have to do. And I know I don't have to do it alone.

Henry's Third Meal

My awesome Target formula deal

No savvy coupon clipping or calculated sales watching this time, just pure, dumb luck. I was breezing by the baby aisles and at the end were double packs of the UP&UP brand formula. One can is usually $12, and these double packs were $19.99. They were reduced 50% so they were $9.98 for a double pack, or $5 a can. I loaded up my cart with all they had, and ended up paying about $140 for 28 cans of formula! Maybe going to Target every week is not a big waste of money... that's what I can tell myself from now on.