With a little help from my friend

Taking matters into my own hands, I invited myself over to a friend's house on Friday morning after the two day slump I was feeling.  The slump had peaked Thursday evening at 6pm when, after two hours of staring at the clock, I still hadn't taken any action in regards to dinner.  James wasn't due home until bedtime, and I knew the kids would have to eat eventually.  I piled everyone into the car and went through the drive-thru at Wendys.  I don't know if I've ever done that; I've taken the kids to the playland at McDonald's more than a couple times, usually to help pass those couple of hours between school and bedtime on a day when James won't be home and I'm unusually tired.  But to put everyone in the car just to go get food and come home?  Normally I just decide it's not worth the effort to get everyone out the door, and I make sandwiches instead.

At any rate, later that night I called my friend and we made plans for the next morning.  James had to take the van, so I was without transportation, so I had to push myself to put Benjamin in the stroller, Juliette in the sling, and off we went.

It was just what I needed.  We sat and chatted for a couple of hours, and then mid-morning I made my way back home.  And suddenly found myself rejuvenated.  I plopped Juliette in a little chair and dug up some garden dirt for Benjamin to play in and did the next step on the entry way, which had been sitting untouched for a while.  The thought of working in the unfenced front yard with a two year old who likes to run far and fast had kept me from working during the day, but with my newfound energy and focus I just figured it out.

So lovely to have friends when you need them.  And so nice to have come to a point in my life where I know that asking for something from a friend is not imposing on them.  I would be eager to help any of my friends, and it's nice to know they are just as willing to help me.  Asking for help takes strength and courage, therefore it cannot be a weakness.  It occurred to me, in the middle of these last couple of days, that I might have a bit of the baby blues.  I don't know that I've ever really come up against it before; it was definitely a new feeling for me.  The important thing was to recognize it and then to do something about it instead of letting it paralyze me further at home.  Lately I have really come to understand that we don't have to just accept the things in our life that are making it unpleasant.  Very often there are ways to ease the burdens and unhappiness, even if it's simply a way to help shift our attitudes.