Welcome to my weekly post where we take a break from money-related posts and I share about what I'm loving right now and give you a little peek into our life from the past week.
Hello, my name is Crystal and apparently I have left my brain somewhere.
For weeks, we’d been planning our big trip to Knoxville to attend the Destination Imagination Global Finals. It’s this huge event (17,000 people from 15 countries!) and I was going and staying in the dorms with team, along with a few of the other moms.
We were supposed to carpool together and leave at 9 am. We had gone over this time multiple times. Only thing is, I forgot to ask what DAY we were leaving.
For some reason, since their first competition and opening ceremonies were on Wednesday, I thought we were leaving on Wednesday morning. I’ve had it on my calendar as tomorrow for weeks. And I had planned our whole schedule accordingly.
Well, at 9:09 am on Tuesday, while I was sitting in my PJs enjoying some quiet Bible reading time while the kids slept, I get a text from the team manager asking if I was okay.
Why was she asking if I was okay?? I was so confused. And then it hit me: maybe I had the DAY wrong and we were supposed to be at their house and leave on Tuesday, as in 9 minutes ago.
I called her and yup, I had the day completely wrong. Needless to say, we hadn’t packed or prepped anything so I told them to go ahead and I’d figure out how to get there by tonight.
So. The trip (and my week!) started a little differently than I expected, but I just had to laugh at myself. I mean, really, how do you not think to ask what DAY you are leaving on??!
Maybe my crazy brain will encourage you! And also, this meant I got to step outside my comfort zone and drive to Knoxville (driving in new places = not my thing) and I got to spend even more quality time with Kathrynne on the way there!
My Year of Yes has been full of color, life, trying new things… and many opportunities to jump out of my comfort zone.
The trip with Kathrynne to the Destination Imagination Global Finals was another YES for this year and I’ll admit that all the unknowns made me anxious.
But I decided to view it as an adventure, no matter what happened. And that was a good thing, because it certainly was eventful!!
From getting the day we were supposed to leave wrong and having to pack up quickly and drive to Knoxville instead of carpooling, figuring out my way around the UTK campus, staying in a dorm for the first time ever (I didn’t go to college!), wall to wall people for hours a day (there were 17,000 people at finals!), and a tornado warning on the way home… yes, this trip was been bursting with adventure!
It was also bursting with amazing moments: sharing in my daughter’s world, heart-to-heart talks with the moms on the trip, laughter, trying new things, getting to know Kathrynne’s friends better, and seeing more beautiful qualities in her that I hadn’t noticed before.
Stepping outside your comfort zone is scary. Saying “yes” to new things is often scary. You don’t always succeed. You might not love the new things. Sometimes, you’re tired and your feet hurt and you wish you could be back home in your comfy pants.
But if you never get brave enough to jump off the cliff, to try that new idea, to just start, to invite that person into your life, to open up and be vulnerable, to just say “yes”, you’re missing a world of color and depth and beauty and richness that only exists beyond your comfort zone.
Jesse decided at the very last minute on Wednesday morning to completely rearrange his day, get the kids in the car, and just come to be with us for the day at the Destination Imagination Global Finals.
My mama heart couldn’t have been happier. They got to see Kathrynne’s team give their big presentation, they got to experience a little bit of dorm life with us, and we got to enjoy all sorts of cool experiences at the expo.
It all went so well… until the last few hours. I was frustrated that he had made me late to meet up with everyone on our Destination Imagination team here in Knoxville (I hate inconveniencing other people!) He was frustrated that I hadn’t communicated well (I hadn’t.)
When he left to drive back to Nashville, we still hadn’t worked through it. But he had to go back to meet an out-of-town friend for dinner. So we said a hurried goodbye, even though the tension was thick between us.
Not 15 minutes later, he sent an apology text. And as soon as I read it, my heart felt all twitterpated again. I love this man — even on days when our differences about drive me batty.
Y’all. I know it’s easy to see incredible images online and to forget that the people in those images are real human beings with real issues and real struggles.
Our marriage is not strong because we never argue or snip at each other; it’s only strong because we often argue and snip at each other and we fight through and fight for one another and our marriage.
It’s work. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes patience. It takes forgiveness. It takes the willingness to admit when I’m wrong. It means loving and giving even on the hard days.
Thank you, Jesse, for being willing to do the good, hard work with me. Thank you for going first with the apology today and melting my heart all over again. I love you!
(Photo from Gallery By Laura)
How was YOUR week this past week? I’d love to hear!
