do you ever want to just escape from your life? get out, get away? since we've started these house renovations two years ago and we've added another little one to the mix, that urge to escape has come more and more frequently.
jay works tirelessly on the house, works full time and travels, and is involved in other volunteer activities. that means i'm often left to take care of the kids alone. and i'm ok with that. obviously i love my children and want to be with them. i also chose to take on this old house and these renovations. taking care of the kids solo is my contribution to that effort. but i also love having some adult time and some alone time! in other words, sometimes i just need to escape.
it's easy when you're in a season like the one we're in now to think that "escaping" means getting out of the situation completely and permanently. but that's crazy. every situation will have seasons of hardships and stress. that's just life. there will never be a perfect, permanent situation that you'll never want to escape from.
so what does escape mean for me lately? it just means having a couple of hours to breathe and think and get out of the house alone or with a friend. usually by the end of the weekend when jay is really putting in serious hours on the house, i'm ready to get out! not only do i take care of the kids full time, but i'm also trying to keep them out of jay's way and away from any danger the renovations may be causing. it's pretty tiring!
jay has been sympathetic and aware enough to let me escape when i need to. whether that means running to a thrift store alone for a few minutes or sitting in a coffee house with a good book for a couple of hours, he knows when i've met my limit and hands me the keys to the car! and that's all i need. just a little time to myself without any interruptions or distractions. without any mouths to feed or bottoms to wipe or tears to dry. space, freedom.
escape and freedom can be big words. they can be words that destroy if taken too far or too the extreme. i was reminded of a rubber band the other night when i was "escaping". my life is the rubber band. it's constant, safe, close, consistent, but can be stretched if necessary. my escape causes some stretching, and if i tried to escape too far, the rubber band - my life, would snap and break. if i allowed too much tension, too much stress, everything would fall apart. but a little stretching is good for the rubber band. stretching allows the rubber band to stay limber and not dry up or get too hard and brittle. and after a bit of stretching, the healthy rubber band can snap back into place and retain its original shape.
we all need a little escape, a little freedom to stay healthy. take the time for it. make sure your spouse understands how important a little time away is for the health of you and your family. but don't "stretch" too far!
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