When Living Simply Isn't So Simple

Simplify.  Just saying the word makes me feel more relaxed.  I see myself with less to do, less to worry about, and more time to relax.  I see myself sipping raspberry lemonade on a private beach...okay, that's just wishful thinking, but you get the point.

But what happens when you're at a place in your life where you can't simplify?  What happens when you have too many irons in the fire, but you can't take anything out or it will all fall apart?  That's where I am now.

Work is going well - extremely well, in fact.  We've worked hard to get it there, and we're going to have to work harder to keep it moving in the right direction.

School is great.  It's amazing.  I love it, and I know that dental hygiene is the career I was made for.  It's a perfect fit for me.  It's also extremely demanding: five classes, required community service hours, numerous online assignments, a group project, rotations in senior clinic, choosing a topic for my freshman research project, two case studies, a patients education simulation, and finding my own patients to meet radiology requirements...and that's just this semester!

A lot of the girls in the program have already quit their jobs, but that's not an option for me...and honestly, I wouldn't want to even if it was an an option.  I enjoy my job, and most of my patients on my list are work contacts.  Cutting my hours back would be great, but that's not an option either.

Simplicity is not an option for me right now.  That won't come until I start my new career in 2013.  So I try to juggle and find all the support I can get.  My husband is my biggest fan - he does all he can to help me out.  My boys are chipping in more and are such great helpers.  I'm so excited about my new Good Morning Girls accountability/Bible study/prayer group.  I'm also an obsessive planner, so that helps too.  I'm hanging on to God with all I have, trusting Him to give me the strength and wisdom to get through this very un-simplified season of my life.  With Him, I know I'll make it!