Tag: #rain

Axes, Beer, Hiking, and Joyful Exhaustion

My husband had to wake me up this morning. Let me mention that I usually wake up a good thirty minutes before my actual alarm. So I am normally awake around 5am. But this morning, he came in at 5:29am and asked if I was going to work today. I was startled to say the least, one because he ran into the corner of the bed which kind of shook me awake, and two, because for me, I had effectively over slept.

The over sleeping part has been bothering me all day. I don’t over sleep and I certainly don’t sleep so soundly that I don’t hear my husband when he gets up in the morning. But I guess I was tired, really tired.

We have just come off of a weekend that jam packed with adventure and shenanigans. We began Friday evening with dinner at home, but soon decided to head to a local brewery, Dungeon Hollow, for a beer. Well, one beer turned into two which turned into a tour of brewery, which is in old home that was built in 1806. That turned into a sharing of ghost stories and other adventures. While we were not out all that late, anything after 8pm is late for me.

We returned home around 9pm and I fell asleep in front of the fire with my dog, Ruby, by my side. At some point, I finally got up and went to bed, leaving my husband abandoned in his recliner. He had also fallen asleep. Cue Saturday morning.

We were up fairly early to have breakfast with our 18-year-old son. His treat, he wanted to take us out. So we headed out for breakfast around 8am. That meant I missed morning mass, but I figured God understood and probably even approved of this time together with family.

It was delightful morning. We talked and laughed and really got to spend some meaningful time together. When we parted ways, our son headed to work (he works at a local hardware store) and we headed to Pittsburgh. We went with friends for a day of ax throwing and beer sampling (In that order). It was fantastic day, and I am grateful for the time that we got share with family and friends.

But once again, I was exhausted. We talked about going out that night; there was a band playing at Dungeon Hollow on Saturday evening, but it was raining and I was kind of done with beer for the day. I know that might sound profane to some you who know me well. But it was the truth. So we opted to stay in, order pizza and chill out for the night. Besides, we had another big day planned for Sunday.

We got up early Sunday morning and headed to mass at Holy Rosary. They have an 8:30am mass and we wanted to get an early start. We were headed to Coopers Rock to go leaf peepin’. The day began grey and rainy, and we weren’t entirely sure if the weather would cooperate with our plans to view the leaves and do a little hiking. Our original plans were to take the dogs with us, but the downpours the night before left the ground very wet and muddy. So the girls stayed home, much to their chagrin.

By the time we arrived, the sun had burst through the clouds and it was shaping up to be a gorgeous fall day. It was just about as perfect as you can get. We spent some time on the overlook then hiked a couple of different trails before heading back to the car.

What do we do after hiking, drink beer, of course! We headed to Mountain State Brewing for some beer and pizza (try the Yardsale) before heading back home.

While it was an exhausting weekend, it was quite honestly a perfect weekend. We did little, if any housework – except for a load of laundry here and there. We left the grass unmowed and leaves strewn about yard. We spent time together as a family, we spent time with friends, and we got to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. It was the best possible way to become exhausted. I wasn’t tired from work, or chores, or errands. I was tired because I had a full weekend with family and friends.

We are all so busy that we don’t really ever seem to get enough quality time with family and friends. When we finally have the time we are usually too tired to do anything meaningful. But this weekend was different. This weekend we made spending time with others a priority. I will take that kind of tiredness, that joyful exhaustion from hanging with family, spending time with friends, going on crazy adventures, sharing stories and toasting beers, any day over the fatigue of work, chores, errands, and general mundane busyness.

Today I am grateful for family, friends, food, axes, beer, hiking, and exhaustion; the kind of joyful exhaustion that comes from living your best life. I hope you have the opportunity to experience joyful exhaustion and that kind of gratitude, too. Today, I hope you live your best life. Please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.

The Monday-est Monday Of All

It’s Monday. I know Monday’s are typically a day of dread for most working people. The weekend is over and its back to the grind. Not only is today Monday, but it was also pouring down rain this morning when I got work. Today has been the Monday-est Monday I have experienced in a long time.

You see, I was out of the office at the end of last week for a business trip to Columbus, Ohio. So I only had three days in the office this past week. I am in the office today, but I am preparing for another trip, this time to New Orleans, Louisiana. Because I have been out of the office, I have a lot to do before I depart again tomorrow. So I came in early, in the rain, before 6:30am, with nobody else in the school, hoping to get some things done before the day really kicked into gear. The hallways were near complete darkness; I couldn’t find the light switches and tripped coming up the stairs. So far, I’m off to great start!

I needed to catch up on emails, update some files, and do some research. I also wanted to get some materials prepared for my trip and was missing some things that I needed to take with me. I was a little frustrated and little consumed with work issues. So consumed in fact that, unfortunately, I missed morning mass.

I missed mass. I know not everyone will understand this, but that is huge deal for me. Especially on a Monday. I go every day. I find it is a great way to start the day, and the best way to begin the week. With Mass, it just feels like I am beginning on the right foot. But today I missed mass.

When I realized what time it was, I raced down the hall to the chapel, but the priest was already proclaiming the gospel and my cell phone was vibrating. I said a quick prayer and apologized, then I went back to my office to respond to the text message I had just received and make another phone call. But as I dashed down the hallway I was angry or maybe it was disappointment. I missed mass and I felt like it was affecting how my week was beginning. So much for starting this week off on the right foot.

Now, it’s not like I have never missed mass. I have. I did last week. I didn’t make it to mass on Friday because I was out of town and had appointments that didn’t permit me to attend daily mass. I guess the difference was that I knew I was going to miss mass last week. I was prepared for it. But today, I hadn’t planned on missing mass, it just happened. And it was wholly and completely my fault. I let myself get caught up in something that I could have had better control over. I let my frustration get the best of me, and what did I gain from it? Nothing. No satisfaction, no peace of mind, and no accomplishment. Just disappointment.

So I walked back to my office and sat down at my desk. I said another prayer, read a couple of reflections, and took a moment to just breathe. In that brief moment, I realized that I while I had apologized for missing morning mass, I did not need to. God wasn’t angry with me, God wasn’t disappointed, God wasn’t frustrated. God didn’t expect an apology. If anything, God wanted peace for me, not this anger, frustration and disappointment that had been consuming me all morning.

Sometimes we are too hard on ourselves, and I suspect this often happened on Mondays. Mondays can be difficult; the weekend is over, we have a whole work week ahead of us filled with demands and expectations, things that we have to accomplish. And the next weekend seems so far away. How are we going to make it through?

Instead of looking at Monday with dread, focusing on all that we think we have to accomplish, and being hard on ourselves when we think we will never get all of it done, maybe we should look at Monday (and every day for that that matter) as an opportunity to start all over again. As another day to be our best, to do our best, to help others, to listen, to care, to be kind, to show love and compassion – not only to others but also to ourselves.

So today, be kind to yourself. Treat yourself (and others) with love and compassion. Look at Monday as an opportunity to begin again, to start fresh. And please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.