In most situations, I'm pretty on top of things. I know what's going on, where we're going, what I need to bring with me, etc. There are very few instances where I blindly follow someone else in charge.
As a homemaker, I'm constantly aware of the next meal that needs to be prepared, which groceries we need, which chores should be completed next.
As a homeschool mom, there always seems to be checklist in my head of the items we've accomplished and topics that still need to be discussed.
In my
Tastefully Simple business, no one is going to do my job for me, so if I don't bring my A-game, my parties are unsuccessful and my income suffers.
Get the idea? Is it the same in your world?
I'll never forget overhearing a former co-worker asking her husband to grab milk on his way home from work. He called back from the dairy aisle asking which kind of milk he should buy, because there were so many options. My co-worker replied, "You seriously don't know which kind of milk we buy? You open the refrigerator every day, pour yourself a glass out of the carton, and you can honestly tell me you don't know if we drink 2%, 1% or skim!?!?!?" She was appalled.
Personally, I remember feeling like she was pretty harsh on him. But now, 11 years later, I can officially understand how that happened.
I went on two trips this summer where I made virtually no decisions and was "along for the ride", so to speak. I felt like a sheep…responsible for nothing, all I needed to do was comply with already-made plans.
First, I went to Kansas City for my high school reunion. The reunion events were all planned out, and friends had coordinated times where we could get together before or after to catch up in a more intimate setting. All weekend long, I was literally told where to go and what time to be there, and I just showed up. It was incredibly freeing to not have to be in charge of anything for four days.
Then in August, I went to Baltimore for our Tastefully Simple annual conference. I traveled with a couple of girls from my team, one of which is very organized, like me. But I let her be in charge of details like transportation to and from the airport, our hotel reservations, things like that. Her authority continued after we arrived. I was so clueless that, at one point, I walked in the complete opposite direction from our hotel to the convention center. It was the first time I had to be there earlier than the other girls and I should have walked left, but instead walked right.
With no one to guide me, I was a lost sheep in downtown Baltimore.
Toward the end of the trip, when I realized how little I was using my brain all weekend, I drew the parallel between me in that moment and my former co-worker's husband. Or many spouses of go-getter significant others, for that matter. When one partner takes the bull by the horns, I can see how the other would think, "Why bother? She/He's got it figured out."
I am that go-getter. Not to say that Mike is a sheep, by any means. But now I understand why he asks seemingly "silly" questions now and then. He's just along for the ride, in many cases. He's become comfortable there.
It was kind of fun to be in that position a couple of different times this summer! Contrary to popular belief, I do not need to be in the driver's seat all of the time. I am very comfortable being told what to do, as long as someone else takes control.
Vacations when I'm not in charge are definitely my new favorite.
.JPG)
Posts
