Comfort Zone

I have a comfort zone. I'm sure we all do. I like my comfort zone. Actually, it would be more accurate to state that I wallow in my comfort zone. Step outside of my zone? Not willingly. It is so amazing how God can move us to places that we never thought or in my case wanted to go. Once I am there, it's a different story.

Let's talk about macaroni and cheese for instance. I am a Kraft in the blue box mac-n-cheese girl. There's no two ways about it. Now Kraft has an instant version that you put in the microwave. I have managed to avoid it up until I had coupons and a sale that made it really cheap for me. So I bought it. Know what I discovered? It's not bad. Not as good as the boxed stuff of course, but add a little milk, some salt and pepper and you've got yourself a pretty good little dish.

I am currently way out of my comfort zone. I would rather be fixing someone else's finances and worrying about someone else's paperwork than my own. My home office/guest room is a prime example of this and has been for ten years but I digress. I have never not worked. My first 'job' was when I was 8 and I babysat the six month old boy and his five year old brother next door to us while all our parents played cards. It was a token job, seeing that the parents were right in the next room, but to me it was a job. Fast forward four years later, I am babysitting kids in the neighborhood without the parental safety net. At sixteen I started working a mom and pop grocery store. I have worked in grocery stores, a library, real estate companies, and doctors' offices. I have been a cashier, stocker, computer programmer, art department manager, ad writer and editor, receptionist, Realtor, book keeper, medical coder, medical biller and office manager of four companies. I have been the 'go to' person in companies because I can streamline a company from top to bottom in no time flat. I have gone to work for companies that have been ripped off, badly managed, and on the verge of closing down and helped produce a profitable company within my first year.

You wonder why I am telling you about all of this? I am stating this because there is something that I can not do and I am way out of my comfort zone on. I can not run a household. There. I have admitted it. It is out for the world to see. I can't even figure out how to organize my pantry. I have just barely gotten on top of the groceries and cooking, but I stick with the same meals and rarely add something new. My office is a prime example of my lack of a running household. I can't even figure out where to put anything in that room, so instead I close the door and ignore as if it is not there. Poor Alex has had me rearrange his room every other week and still I am mentally rethinking it and planning my next rearranging. I don't know how Rob deals with coming home and nothing is the same as when he left.

I learn more everyday. I go to friends' houses searching for solutions that may help me gain control over this monstrosity. Of course, it does not help matters that I am a pack rat. I can not seem to get rid of anything and always keep it just in case. There's also the fact that our home has become a storage unit for other people's things also. So basically, I am inept at running a household and overwhelmed by clutter and it is spilling over to all other aspects of my life. Alex is lucky if I remember to bring diapers for him when we go out much less wipes, food, or toys. Rob, the poor man, is always asking me if I have seen this, that or the other.

Still God keeps me here and Alex reminds me daily what a blessing that is. So while I am outside of my comfort zone, I am in very much inside my growing zone and growing more everyday. One day I may even have this household stuff down pat. One could hope. For now, I'm happy with just knowing I can have Kraft mac-n-cheese in less than four minutes.