balance

Deep breaths and a glass of red wine

/ Stephanie / 2 Comments

I planned the first weekend of sabbatical for months. Months. I knew exactly how I wanted to spend those first 24-48 hours and nothing was going to force me to deviate from the plan.  I had a wedding to perform the Saturday before I didn’t have to go to work on Sunday, but as soon as the wedding party was gone from the church I was going to set my sabbatical message on my email, shut the lights out, and consider myself “off.” Dinner and games with friends that night, brunch the next morning complete with fancy crêpes (and maybe a mimosa).  It was all lined up well in advance, and the plan was carried out without a hitch.IMG_0646

It never occurred to me, however, to plan the last night of sabbatical. So here I sit taking deep breaths and drinking a glass of wine. Continue reading →

We have time

/ Stephanie / 2 Comments

While my daughters and I were on the drive for a spontaneous strawberry-picking trip we passed through Afton, MN, home of Selma’s Ice Cream Parlor and a perfect playground across the street. I was asked from the backseat, “Can we stop there on the way home?”

My answer was my default, “If we have time.” I don’t like to default to “No,” but often we are running on a tight schedule. Our kids aren’t so overly programmed that we can’t do any trips to parks, playgrounds, or berry farms. But at the same time, with five of us, each with our own activity or work schedules, our trips aren’t exactly spontaneous. They have to be carefully coordinated to fit into the right empty spot on the numerous Google calendars we maintain.

Continue reading →