Have you ever tried to build a house of cards? While we were at the Pastor/Elder's retreat we had to try and build one. We were not allowed to talk to each other and everyone had to participate. Those where the only rules. The goal was to try and build the 'biggest' house of cards. Some groups used their water glasses as a base and continued to build the house on top of that, some folks thought biggest could mean widest. Our group won. Someone at our table folded a card in half and put it on the table, then folded another one in half to create a square. Someone followed suit and we made another square touching that one and another. Then we put a 'floor' of cards on top of them and did some more squares. It was very, very sturdy and we could have gone higher and higher if we had more than 52 cards. Our group was made up of people with the same personality type as ours, (we did a test prior to the weekend) and the point was supposed to be how you can't succeed with only people of your personality type. How we all need to work together.
Those in our group would say hogwash, we succeeded just fine on our own! (It's one of the weaknesses of our personality.) As we sat there in ruled silence I did a little introspecting on the activity. When looking at a house of cards one begins to realize how each card is needed to keep everything balanced, and should even one card be missing everything crumbles. It doesn't teeter, it doesn't totter, it falls into a heap on the floor and cannot be righted again until all of the cards are back in place.
I know that you all know me well enough to have figured out where this analogy is going. The card that has been missing for me: sleep. Prior to the Pastor/Elders retreat I had been going to bed about 9:30 to quiet down and fall asleep about 10:00. Then I had been waking up about 5:30 or 6:00. For the first time in my life! And it was so great. I got a start on things while the girls slept in the morning. I went up to wake them instead of being awoken by them. I ate a real breakfast and fueled myself in so many ways before anyone else was peeping. Then I went away for a weekend and stayed up until 1:00 each morning just hoping to hang out with the cool kids and have some conversations that I wanted to have.
Since then I haven't been going to bed until late at night and with that card out of place everything has been out of whack. The whole house has crumbled as it were. The house being me. I have an awful sore throat and such, I actually ate chocolate chip cookies for breakfast today! Out of whack indeed. The weekend doesn't show much promise of getting any sleep either, but hopefully Sunday night I'll be able to start pick up that card and start building the house again.
Just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and once I'm sleeping I'll write many more a post about the last two weeks, which have been busy, busy, busy.
5 comments:
hey 6 or 60!
I've been wondering about you! Glad you are a o.k.!
Sleep is a big card in my life. I need it.
I was just thinking about the routine that I've gotten myself into...it's much like yours...stay up too late and then am groggy all morning! Could have something to do with the newborn stage (and this past week, the time change..killer!), but I think as we move out of that I too will start to try and get to bed a little earlier so I can start my day on a better foot!
If I had choc chip cookies in the house I probably would have had them for breakfast this morning too! I've having some serious chocolate cravings as of late!!
I hope that you are able to get back on the routine you had before the retreat. Sounds like it was very workable for you and your family.
Routine - oh to find one that works on all levels. I am best if I get to bed earlier and up earlier as well but I feel like I miss a bunch of stuff at night when Dad and De stay up watching movies or whatever. Then there are the inevitable nights when early to bed isn't even possible. I've used the 'sleep in the car' method quite often to make up for lost sleep on nights like that. But finding what makes YOU feel YOUR best is the key and it sounds like the week before the retreat clicked. Once you catch up on your rest, you can probably get away with the odd night of shorter sleep. Since it is St. Paddy's day I'll say "GOOD LUCK" with finding YOUR BEST schedule. ;)
Love ya'll.
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