To pen or pencil...that is the question

I was on the phone with my dad this morning trying to find a weekend, between both of our schedules, to have them come out for a visit. This is nothing new. We have already been through this twice already, but each time we set a date, something comes up and we find ourselves flipping through the calendar pages again, trying to find another open weekend.

Luckily we ended up finding a date that works, and as I grabbed my calendar and rummaged through our junk drawer, tossing aside the pens in search of a more useful writing tool, I said "I'll pencil that in". Then my dad and I both laughed and he said, "that's just about all I use nowadays".

So this is what my life has come to....penciling.

I actually like the idea of pencils, they are somewhat noncommittal. And given the phase of life that I am in right now, it is fitting. I mean, as a mother I can't tell you how many times we have canceled our plans due to an illness or just plain "toddler attitude". And now that I am getting out of the unreliable, often frustrating stage of toddler-hood,I am finding myself in the new unreliable, often frustrating stage of adoption. But I am finding that if I go into it knowing that at any moment things will change, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, I am not nearly as thrown by it as I might otherwise be.

I think a fitting term for that would be mental penciling.

That's what's so great about pencils. If you need to make a change, it isn't set in stone. There are no black X's through the calendar that need to be made, no squiggly lines to disrupt the otherwise organized flow of the pages. Just flip your pencil over and erase.

Case in point:

As I was writing this blog, Caleb ran inside to show me his face. Apparently he and his friend were playing very quietly (which is always a red flag with boys), and when they came out, this is what Caleb looked like....



So, using Caleb as a great example, you can see how using a pencil would be much less messy. :)

I don't think I have anything else to say on this subject. But I will leave you with this one piece of advice: If you are about to enter parenthood, adoption or just life in general...be sure to bring a pencil.

Anna