The day was full of possibilities. The morning started rather well, with some cuddling of the six year old as he cried a wee bit about Brigadoon. The tears soon turned to laughs as we talked about some Brigs’ goofier moments. Everyone was fed, dressed, and ready to go to church. Even managed to scrape off the minivan. Goals were set for the day on the way to church and the sun began to peek through the clouds.
Before Sunday School, my oldest son asked me to go see the puppies his teacher had brought to class. I went in happily, the circle of life and all, and I doubted they would be lab puppies.
Yep, a chocolate, a black, and a yellow in all their furry cuddly glory. Tears sprung to my eyes. I quickly left the room and went to teach my class.
After class, my sons and I went into the classroom and held those cute puppies. My boys were quick to ask for the yellow one (no), then the other two (no and no). Their requests helped me to not cry. We went into church and I felt refreshed. On the way home we stopped by the firehouse to sign up for little league and then splurged on some Dunkin Donuts.
The goals I had set for myself on the way to church were still in my working memory. I planned on a very productive day. We pulled into the driveway and I saw the gutter hanging off of the house. Called my brother-in-law but he was up north shopping. I simply hoped it wouldn’t rip all the way off, exposing the wood.
I hit the plateau.
Everything began to hurt. Motivation flew out the window. While I did accomplish some tasks, the energy was gone. How can that little of a day suck so much energy out of me?
Yes, my sons had a fun day. They used their sleds a few times down the little hill. They played outside until they were freezing. They played Air Hogs inside, had fun meals, and were wonderfully behaved all day. As I type, they are playing in the bathroom sink. Water continues to fascinate them. They’ve followed directions, been gracious, and had a pleasant day. I love my time with them, you know, time not interrupted by other things.
My question, more to myself but if anyone has theories, feel free to share them, is how do I summon up so much energy at work five days a week and cannot make it past 3:00 on a weekend day? What changes? Is it because I sit behind a desk like a bump on a log at work? Is it because I put more heart and soul into the weekend days because family trumps work and I wear myself out more quickly? Obviously, like many folks, I wish I could work two days a week and have five days off with my family. Since that’s not the schedule at work, and I’m not independently wealthy, I work five days a week and get two days with my family. Why can I not manage my energy better on Saturday and Sunday?
So here I sit at 7:30, an obscenely early hour in my world, hoping my sons go to bed and fall asleep really quickly so I can go to bed with ice packs on various bones. My bro-in-law was wonderful and stopped by with his wonderful wife and in the freezing cold, he nailed the gutter back up onto the house. I got the ladders and hammer ready right after they called because we were losing daylight fast. Now the gutter will at least hold till it can be properly replaced.
The many goals that were set? I hung up two towel hooks and set up a litter box with an easier entry for the very senior cat. The many others? Still sitting in my working memory, wondering when they too will be accomplished.
Not tonight my good goals. Not tonight. I’ll be lucky to make it to the bed.
ohbloodyhell8 
Have you come across the spoon plan? It’s also called the energy bean plan. For a week, track all your activities. How do you feel before you start a project? Or how are you feeling when a task pops up? What’s your pain level? What’s your energy and pain level at the end of the project/task? After you’ve looked at all the data, try to fit in easy tasks with a difficult one or two. Decide how many spoons/beans tasks require. You also GET spoons/beans for investing in yourself: meditation, bath, relaxation technique, other things you find invigorating. Carry your spoons or bean container with you if you need the tactile aid. When your spoon or bean levels get low, add some energy or decide to call it a day. It takes some planning and of course its effectiveness varies person to person depending how much they enjoy the game aspect.
Thanks for the plans! I will try them. So many ways without pills take planning and are effective with effort. That I don’t mind. And I do so love a good game!