Officially Drowning in Vines....in a good way!

If we were ever wondering if we were drowning before, we're for sure drowning now.  In vines.  Lots of them.  And weeds.  Lots of them, too.  And pressure to get it all done...."in a timely manner"....as our vine neighbour suggested to us last week.  Yeah, we know.  It's easy to say "get them done" when it's your full-time job, but when it's not your full-time job and you have 8 kids and you have 100 other things to do....it is no small task to "get them done in a timely manner".....I felt like suggesting to her that she come over and help us "get them done in a timely manner"!!!! 

I told my mom this past weekend, we never, ever wake up and wonder what we should do.  The question is what SHOULD we do and what will we NOT get done.  Today I have a 100 loads of laundry that weren't done on the weekend as we had all of us out in the vines on the weekend.  So that is probably where I will start...after I finish my coffee of course.

We are certainly packing things in these days.  In my short-sightedness back in the winter, I booked our kids for a track meet on the weekend.  What was I thinking?  We had no time for that!  But at the same time I knew the kids would love it, so I did it anyway.  Most of the kids are fairly athletic.  I have one that is Olympic-level in everything, so I pretty much booked it for him.  No surprise.  He won first in every single race by a long shot.  It was the funniest thing to watch as he ran like Ussein Bolt.  I'm sure he  broke records that day.  We will now have to work on keeping him humble. 

Trying to keep things balanced during this very busy time is hard.  Going to that track meet was a sacrifice.  But the kids loved it, so it was worth it.  We always figure God will keep the weeds back a day if He has to in order for us to go to those things.  I met one other lady whose husband was a farmer.  He wasn't at the track meet because he was bringing in hay.  I immediately understood her unlike any other woman that day.  She was on her own because she wanted her kids at the track meet.  She knew her husband couldnt' be there because they are farmers.  Farmers do not have regular lives.  I am still just getting my head around the fact we are farmers.  I am?  When did that happen?  I'm a farmer, too?  Married to a farmer?  What?!  That is insane!  I didn't know that!  I do not remember signing up for this!  But, the truth is, I love it.  We all do.  It's just different for us.  And I'm still trying to live and plan and book things as if I'm not a farmer because for some reason I missed the memo on that one!  I am a farmer!  Who knew?!  That is why I automatically signed us up for the track meet.  All the other farmer's wives don't do that.  They know they are too busy this time of year.  I'm still figuring that out.  So next year, I will be smarter and not  book all the field trips for spring and summer and oh yeah, fall.   Ha!  The only time we can go on field trips is in the winter?!  Guess so!

Yesterday it rained!  Yay!  We didn't have to go out and prune!  Oh no.  The weeds are growing.  Rain is a mixed blessing.  It means we get a small break, but it also means 10x the work later.  So I think I'm making myself clear - this is a crazy time.  How do we keep from being overwhelmed?  One day at a time.  One plant at a time.  One weed at a time. 

If you drove by our place you would only see weeds.  It doesn't look like we're getting anything done.  I don't like that perception, but I can't help it if we get misunderstood.  I know we're out there working on it.  I know it's getting done, albeit slowly.  I wish I could put a sign at the end of our driveway that says, "We're working on it!"  But I can't.  So I take all thoughts of wrong perceptions and neighbourhood pressure and press on.  I take each dirty sock and put them in the basket and then wash them when I can.  I take each dish that seems to endlessly pile up and wash it one at a time.  I am trying to live in the moment and not look ahead beyond today.  The verse that is in my head is definitely, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for today has enough trouble of its own."  I'll say!  I have enough to deal with today!  I cannot dare think about tomorrow!

Meanwhile my husband now has another job within a job.  He was given a temporary assignment for a few months on top of his other work.  This is a good thing as they are compensating him for it, but it adds to the other work he already has!  Man.  We have a lot going on.  If I try to get into his head space it makes my head spin.  But again, what keeps us going and sane is constantly talking.  We are good at that.  We talk all the time.  I think that is what is the key to any success we experience and the key to both of us staying sane.  By communicating constantly throughout the day, over coffee each morning, and then again at night....we keep each other calm by listening to each other's fears, concerns, feelings, worries about the kids, the vines, his job, the workloads we're both under, etc., etc., etc......that is why we aren't nuts!  If I had to handle things all on my own or he had to handle things all on his own, we'd both lose our minds and that would be the end of it all.  We are somehow managing the insanity simply because we talk.  We both recognize how important this is and make it our number one priority. 

The other major benefit of this new venture we've taken on is how it has really pushed everyone to make things run smoothly.  Last summer I wasn't on top of things as I had no idea what I was doing, so when I went into the vines to weed last year I didn't assign anyone to take over the house.  I was somehow trying to manage both outdoors and indoors.  Our house was AWFUL last summer.  Dishes and laundry everywhere.  This summer I said to my kids, "If I'm in the vines, you're on kitchen and laundry".  Deal.  So this past weekend, my little ten year old took over.  I was so impressed with how she handled things!  At first she wasn't so happy about her new assignment, but now she's not only keeping things clean, but she's pumping out all sorts of things out of the kitchen for snacks!  She keeps baking up a storm and having a ton of fun doing it!  The older kids that weren't outside did the laundry and that kept me from feeling those insanely overwhelmed feelings.  There's always more to do, so that's my deal now.  Then we had quite a few of the kids outside with us in the vines.  We're all learning so much about growing vines.  It is an amazing experience all around even if we are all somewhat overwhelmed.

Today it is sunny....we've already been out in the vines.....Slowly but surely we're pruning one row at a time  The rest of the day will be busy with all the regular stuff and then tonight, back at it.  Yesterday as I was in the vines, I found myself praying.  I found myself thinking of the image before my eyes.  I was praying against all the weeds that can come into my own life, my kids' lives.  I'll pray that God will continue to prune all of us through this experience that we will stay close to the main source of strength and that He will keep us connected to Him.    I have so many things to pray for it helps pass the time easily.  I thank God very much for this experience.  I think being overwhelmed can be a good thing as we'll only survive because of God.  We'll never be able to say, "It's because of us!"  No.  If we see success in any way, it'll be 100% because of God.