Randomness..... (trying to keep it short, which is obviously hard for me)
Last month, I missed my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary trip to my aunt & uncle's cabin b/c I went to Mandy's baby shower and watched the twins. (I made Amy choose that date).
Last night, I missed my aunt's 50th birthday party because... I watched the twins. (I made arrangements with their dad about 2 months ago and I found out about my aunt's party last week).
My family gets upset and feels like they are my last priority.
I consider everyone family. You are either part of my blood family or spiritual family, but it's family none the less.
I wonder... am I wrong for missing these events? Should I cancel previous commitments with other people I love because these events are for "blood relatives"?
My aunt actually asked my mom, "Is Hannah coming? I didn't give her a 3 month notice, so I'm sure she won't be able to make it."
Sadly, she's right.... I have 2 of the 3 weekends left in October planned, I have every Saturday planned in November, and 3 of the 5 weekends in December planned.
I have a busy life, but I love everything I do.
I have been working with the twins for 4 1/2 years. They are now 9 years old, both girls. Al has been saying my name the past few weeks, and it's the first time that she's said it consistently. Before now, she's only said it 2 other times. Today, she actually grabbed my leg and said my name 3 times. It's so amazing to see a child change that much over time. For her vocabulary to continually grow....from 2 words to over a hundred. Oh, and because I've been with them most Saturdays lately, she woke up yesterday asking for me. It's amazing. It's so cute. Please keep in mind, she's been in the severely mentally delayed special education classes since she was less than 3 years old.
Oh, and one more thing. Today, I met a 7 yr. old boy at church that has been getting pushed and punched by bullies. His response? Nothing. He just took it. I asked him if he has ever told his teachers or his parents. Nope. He said he was going to deal with it himself and just take it. I obviously told his mom afterwards who is new to our church, and she was shocked. And heartbroken. I felt the same way that I felt when I heard about Noah when he was in 1st grade. Why? How can kids be so mean to these precious boys? Hearing it come from him was heart-wrenching. I would have thought that this kid would have been a bully, not a victim. It's so sad. Yet, there's something so beautiful for a kid to actually talk about it and share his honest opinion and reasonings for his choices.
About Me
- Hannah
- I am a 28 yr. old woman, and my biggest hope is to be a light admist this darkened world.
4 comments:
First off I commend you for sticking to your commitments. If you commit to doing something for someone, you should follow through. You can't be in two places at the same time. I struggle with that a lot myself with my family. My blood family I mean. Not only am I busy with church stuff, but I also work shiftwork which includes weekends sometimes.
You shouldn't feel guilty for having to say no to things sometimes. Too many people can't say no to things.
I'll pray that you will have a peace about this and that the Lord will give you a specific answer.
Be Moved!
I totally agree with what Keith said. I know it's hard, when we have a lot on our plate, to keep from making other people feel "not important". You can't spread yourself too thin and I don't think you should feel guilty. Prioritizing family and obligations is a hard task that is hard to tackle. Keep your faith and, in the end, they'll understand you were only doing what you know is right.
I also pray that you will find peace with this.
I think you need to balance it out.
If you knew the events were coming up and might involve parties then it would be a good idea to be proactive and give folks a call.
Having said that, it's hard to figure when its okay to cancel.
In the cases that you mentioned, if you had a week or two of notice then I think it would have been okay to call the twins' parents and see if they could make other arrangements.
You can't call 20 minutes before you're suppossed to be there (like our old sitter would do) and you can't cancel just because you feel like it, but I think events like you outlined would be cause, as long as you gave enough notice.
Thanks Keith and Tia for your encouragement.
Oz, you are right. But right now, I need the money, and between those two dates, I made $250+, so that's another reason why I didn't want to cancel. I could trust God in the fact that He might provide in other ways, but when I see this as a way of making ends meet, I took it. But you are right.
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