A Week At a Time: A mother and daughter's summer challenge together - Week One: Just Keep Swimming

Hi All! My daughter Rebekah and I are doing a challenge for the summer. We are taking regular tasks (or maybe something we've always meant to do but struggle starting or finishing it) and have agreed to consistently do it together for just one week and journal our way through it. We've named it "A Week At a Time", and we'd love to have you follow our journey!  If it inspires you, share it! If it inspires you to start one of your own we'd love to hear about it in the comments below. 

WEEK 1: Hand-washing the dishes

(Here are the 3rd and 4th day journal entries.  The previous post has day one and two....annnd NEXT time I'm talking Rebekah into taking a real pic! haha!)

Day Three

Rebekah:  Again… getting kinda old.  Although, as tough as it is to start, it’s easy once I get into it.  I’ve noticed that the productivity helps me a lot.  I can think while I do the dishes, and then after I’m done, I have an idea for something creative that I enjoy doing.  Like, a topic to write about, a guitar progression, a character for a drawing.  Little things like that tend to inspire me a bit. 

Michelle: OK, So…Day Three has come and gone and doing the dishes at 11:30 was much better that 3pm I don’t know why I am so hooked around that.  Probably because I feel much better about my surrounding when the dishes are clean.  There’s just something that settles me when I look at the kitchen and the counter and sink are clear and clean.  When they aren’t I’m unsettled, and if I’m honest it feels personal.  I feel worse about myself when the kitchen isn’t clean…hmm. If I slow myself down and think about what my internal thoughts are I hear phrases like, “What if so-n-so saw this? What would they think?” or “Get it together, Michelle! This is a mess!” Even worse and more defeating, “Why try? If I clean it up…it will just be a disaster again in a few hours.”  So many defeatist thoughts that thwart positive movement! And I’m wondering how often my negative energy and mindset impact my family, in this case, Rebekah?  Oh Jesus, how do I companion with you in this?  How do I find the unforced rhythms of grace that cultivate strength, joy and vision?...haha! All of this just from doing the dishes! How often do silent narratives drive us and we don't even know it?

Day Four

Rebekah:  Today I dried the dishes.  Normally I wash and hand them to my Mom—who’s significantly faster at drying dishes—and we finish quickly.  I need to practice my drying skills.  Either that, or I’m a really slow washer and she’s a fast dryer.  Either way, I’m lacking speed somewhere.  Drying was a bit more hassle because you put the dishes away and dry at the same time.  I dunno though, because my Mom could dry and put away faster than I was putting wet and sudsy dishes in front of her.…I think there's a secret conspiracy that involves my mother becoming The Flash.  

Michelle: I went to work early today and did not make it home until 5.  Dishes were done when I came home and we were both in get-it-done mode. Beks dried today and man was I stacking the dishes her direction.  I noticed in our hurry we had less conversation but also realize that sometimes the job just needs to get done.  Half of me was bothered by not giving it time the other half was just weary from the day and glad to finish up.  At the end of the day, however, I felt the loss of not enjoying that time with Beks.  Yep, there's the tension...finding balance between the hurried demands of daily tasks, and holding them loose enough to let God and myself be present and attentive in them.  So far, there seems to be three themes emerging:

First, intention means changing our routine.

Second, repetition grows the muscle for intention.

Third, slowing down gives space for relationship that would not be there otherwise….

...”Just keep swimming, Just Keep Swimming…”