October 23, 2017

Today I woke up with a massive headache, a messy house, and big family.  Three things I just didn't feel like facing today.  Ha!

But somehow I faced them all.  I got everyone out the door.  I worked for hours on my cleaning.  And I took 4 Ibuprofen which eased my pain.

I am so into listening to books on tape.  For years people have told me that I should give it a try.  I have always nodded politely, but I love reading so much that I didn't think I would like to listen to books.  Lately, with too much to do, my reading time has become nearly extinct.  So I decided to try the app Audible.  Now, when I look around and feel discouraged about all the work I need to do, I just put in my earphones and it actually motivates me to work.  I can clean and do laundry and work for hours now!  As long as I'm accomplishing something, I allow myself to listen.  Sometimes I even look around for something else to clean or do because I want to keep listening.  In the evenings, when the kids are playing outside, I don't mind standing at the sink doing dishes as long as I'm listening to my book.  And carpooling isn't as bad, because once I drop off all the kids, I can just stick in my earphones and listen the whole way home.

Millie and I had a long phone conversation the other day.  She told me all about this book called, "Just Mercy," by Brian Stevenson.  I downloaded it right away.  It is about a lawyer who works to help wrongly convicted inmates on death row.  It is heartbreaking to see the racial injustices and the flaws in the system.  He has helped many people who've been in prison for 40 or 50 years for a crime they committed when they were thirteen years old.  He has helped black people who were framed by shady law enforcement officers for crimes that would have been impossible for the person to commit.  They ignored solid alibis and paid people to wrongly testify and threatened others to change their stories.  Many, many people in prison for almost their whole lives are mentally impaired or have been terribly abused and mistreated in prison.  It was such a fascinating book.  And it happily propelled me through many hours of work!

Greg's office is doing a fitness challenge, so to help, I made a really yummy bbq chicken salad for dinner.  After eating it, Greg outlined our new exercise program.  He wants to start in the morning.  I desperately want to be supportive.  It's just that my head hurts.  And I'm tired.  And it's going to take some major willpower on my part to get up early and do the workout.  I added a plea for help in my prayers tonight.  Oh, heaven help me!