Overwhelmed

What do you do when you are overwhelmed? Like when seemingly big things change in your life and you have to figure out what to do now? Or maybe just a bunch of small things change, but all of those combined shift things just enough that your brain doesn't want to function, doesn't want to have to change paths.

Have you ever watched a little kid when something gets in their way? I have a 1 year old daughter and if she is on a mission and you put something in her path then she does all she can to go over it, or around it, or through it. She isn't bothered too much by what is in her path, she just doggedly moves forward to get to her objective. Little kids minds are constantly figuring out the world around them and making all kinds of new pathways in their brain on how to do things. I think as we get older we get in the habit or mindset of how things are supposed to go. Those pathways get traveled again and again and just like the wagon tracks on the Oregon Trail they start to form mental ruts. If something blocks those paths it can be pretty hard to get out of the ruts and go around.

I'm kinda feeling like that right now. We got a new to us washer and dryer about a month ago. It was a brand I trusted and loved, so even though we were getting them used I still felt ok about it. Well, this washer isn't washing as good as my last one did. That was disappointing, but the dryer was working fabulously! Now the dryer isn't working and I'm not sure what is going on. Do heating elements just go out overnight? Or do they usually just slowly not work as well? This wouldn't be as big of a deal if it was a little warmer and I could hang things on the clothesline, but it's still pretty cold and quite windy.

Added to this is that I have a baby lamb in my laundry room. This sweet little girl needs to be bottle fed every 2-3 hours for the next week and in order to make feeding time easier she is in the laundry room. I'm not a big animal person. They make me nervous, and I especially don't care to have farm animals in my house. Baby lambs are not house trained which means you have to clean up after them, and I just don't like doing that. So, I avoid my laundry room and the kids do the feeding. But if I'm avoiding my laundry room, how do I get the laundry done?

My kids do help with the laundry, but they don't do it as well as I do. I know, they can learn, and they should learn, but it takes them forever and I just want to get this mountain to a more maintainable level. That won't happen if I just depend on them to do the laundry. It would include a lot of nagging on my part, and a lot of frustration on theirs. Not a good dynamic.

Could we put the lamb outside? Yes, we could, but sadly the last lamb that we did that with died and the kids were heartbroken. I don't want to go through that again, either. So for now it looks like this little girl will be taking up residence inside.

I really don't know what I need to do first. I'm heartbroken that my washer and dryer aren't working 100% right now. I'm feeling like a failure because what I thought was a good deal isn't working out and I don't know how to fix it. I'm second guessing my choice to buy used instead of new. Added to that is the lamb and added mess in my laundry room and I just want to avoid laundry altogether. This is not good when you've chosen to cloth diaper and it's time to wash diapers.

I know this is a phase and will only last for a short time, comparatively speaking, but right now, today, it feels overwhelming. So if you read this and feel inclined, I wouldn't say no to a prayer being offered up for my sanity, or some happy vibes being sent my way. I think I will put on some upbeat music and dance or sing my way through the day. Maybe that will help.