I'll Pass on the Cake, Thanks

I have been reminded of something this past weekend.  Well, not really reminded, because I've known this all along.  It was more of a confirmation.  And that something is that I just don't do well running around from one activity to another. 

While some of my friends thrive on this kind of busy lifestyle, it seems to suck the life right out of me.  In fact, it just proves to be a tried-and-true recipe for weariness and frustration in my life.  Take this last weekend, for example: Start with the basic ingredients of a 2-day holiday boutique, an all-day band practice and competition (with attached parent volunteer duties), early morning praise team practice, two Sunday afternoon events to attend, plus Sunday night youth group, and oh - a husband out of town. Throw in a few emotional tablespoons of staying up extra late a few nights getting my boutique items ready, getting everything there at the very last minute after work on Friday, and then  throw in a few cups of disappointment over not doing as well on my items at the boutique as I had hoped.  Sift in some extra needed vigilance to make sure the teenagers are doing what they're supposed to be doing over the weekend, and not doing what they're not supposed to be doing.  Frost this thickly with a statement from the family financial manager that current family finances are dictating that I must find a full time job.  Which most likely means going back to school to complete my California credentials while trying to find any full-time teaching job that is available in this very poor economy.  (Which of course means that I would be leaving my Little People teaching job, which is a job that I truly love.)  Mix those all together and throw them in the oven over a very short span of three days, and you've got one big, lopsided Unhappy Cake on your hands.

Unhappy Cake is not the type of cake that I want to start the week out with.  I would rather have Energy Cake, or Contentment Cake, or Nap Cake.  But the fact is that sometimes you just have to deal with the cake that life hands you - or sometimes you just have to pass on the cake and move on to something else. 

No cake for me, thanks.  Unless it's Nap Cake.