Amy’s Slowing Down, Speeding up World

As soon as you read that title do you think of the car you get stuck behind that does that very thing? You’re driving down a two lane back road highway, moving at a good clip when you come up on a Sunday driver. This person seems to not have a care in the world. A no passing zone sign comes and goes out your left window. You look at the speedometer, and you’re behind someone who is doing 45 in a 55. You sigh, you fidgit, checking all your mirrors. At this point, you come to terms with the fact that you’ll be doing 45 in a 55 as well. So you sit back and you relax.

As soon as you’re okay with being behind this snail of a car, it speeds up. And being you, you speed up too. Now we’re moving, you think to yourself. And just when that is okay, that car is slowing down again.

That is what life has felt like around here. Go, go, go for the past I don’t know how many months, to slowing down and enjoying the moment.

It takes a while for a body to adjust from busyness to plain relaxation.

Here is when I noticed that my body caught up to the speed it was supposed to be going. This is an interactive side walk outside our library. Very rarely do we use this side of the building to enter in. The girls would catch a glimpse of it and beg me to stop so they could “do the sidewalk” but I was doing 75 in a 55 and there was no time for such things.

Until this day two weeks ago. I could tell that my spirit had settled down when the girls were about halfway into it. When they got in the car, Abigail said, “Thanks Mommy for letting us do the sidewalk.” Biggest treat ever for them. Lol.

So much slowing down I finished the lapghan I made for my mother in law

So much slowing down, that Leah created these sock dolls made from her socks out of her drawer.

You know how they say to give a starving man a fishing pole?…well give a creative kid a needle and thread!

But then VBS came along. I was in charge of the snacks portion. I could start to feel that drive to get ‘er done stirring in my bones

Then we grabbed one of the outside kitties to move in. My time at night when the kids go to bed is now filled with this kitten clinging the furniture and clawing at anything she can find. Silly I know, but this is my time. She has since realized this, so I think, and disappears during my time. We shall see

Since my mom’s memorial, the past week has been spent taking care of my middle daughter. She had a fever, aches, and pains but I could find no reason for her to have this fever. And it would go away in the morning, leading us to think it must not be anything too big. On Monday she showed me a big red rash on her upper thigh. I spent Monday night fretting over the rash and fever thinking Lyme’s disease. Tuesday morning I broke the news the we could not go to Indiana beach that day because she needed to go to the doctor. 85 in a 55…

The doctor said it was not Lyme’s disease. I was so relieved that I was thanking God and the doctor in the patient room. The doctor looked at me oddly and remarked, this is still serious. It was cellulitis. Said her excema probably flared up and she might have scratched that area to the point of opening the skin enough for bacteria to get in.

All week I’ve been so worried over her. My youngest and I would pray at the table while Abigail would lay on the couch. She is doing better now that she’s had a few days of antibiotic, but I have never seen her so sick for so long.

Yesterday we made the decision to stay home from our next Bible quiz tournament this weekend 3 hours away because traveling can run a healthy person down, no need to make Abigail’s body work harder to fight the infection than it has to. I thank God she’s okay, but now I’m a bit run down for having to speed up and worry and fret.

I suspect that life will slow down and stay that way when the kids are older. And yes I know, I’ll miss these days. But for a person who grew up in unpredictable circumstances these types of events can throw ya for a loop…not knowing if the car in front will speed up or slow down.

This cat has many names. Muggly after our previous neighbor’s cat. Tuxie because she’s what’s called a tuxedo cat. But mainly we call her kitty. Don’t let that cute face fool ya!