Welcome to my weekly post where we take a break from money-related posts and I share about what I’m loving right now and give you a little peek into our life from the past week.
Hello, my name is Crystal and apparently I have left my brain somewhere.
For weeks, we’d been planning our big trip to Knoxville to attend the Destination Imagination Global Finals. It’s this huge event (17,000 people from 15 countries!) and I was going and staying in the dorms with team, along with a few of the other moms.
We were supposed to carpool together and leave at 9 am. We had gone over this time multiple times. Only thing is, I forgot to ask what DAY we were leaving.
For some reason, since their first competition and opening ceremonies were on Wednesday, I thought we were leaving on Wednesday morning. I’ve had it on my calendar as tomorrow for weeks. And I had planned our whole schedule accordingly.
Well, at 9:09 am on Tuesday, while I was sitting in my PJs enjoying some quiet Bible reading time while the kids slept, I get a text from the team manager asking if I was okay.
Why was she asking if I was okay?? I was so confused. And then it hit me: maybe I had the DAY wrong and we were supposed to be at their house and leave on Tuesday, as in 9 minutes ago.
I called her and yup, I had the day completely wrong. Needless to say, we hadn’t packed or prepped anything so I told them to go ahead and I’d figure out how to get there by that night.
So. The trip (and my week!) started a little differently than I expected, but I just had to laugh at myself. I mean, really, how do you not think to ask what DAY you are leaving on??!
Maybe my crazy brain will encourage you! And also, this meant I got to step outside my comfort zone and drive to Knoxville (driving in new places = not my thing) and I got to spend even more quality time with Kathrynne on the way there!
My Year of Yes has been full of color, life, trying new things… and many opportunities to jump out of my comfort zone.
The trip with Kathrynne to the Destination Imagination Global Finals was another YES for this year and I’ll admit that all the unknowns made me anxious.
But I decided to view it as an adventure, no matter what happened. And that was a good thing, because it certainly was eventful!!
From getting the day we were supposed to leave wrong and having to pack up quickly and drive to Knoxville instead of carpooling, figuring out my way around the UTK campus, staying in a dorm for the first time ever (I didn’t go to college!), wall to wall people for hours a day (there were 17,000 people at finals!), and a tornado warning on the way home… yes, this trip was bursting with adventure!
It was also bursting with amazing moments: sharing in my daughter’s world, heart-to-heart talks with the moms on the trip, laughter, trying new things, getting to know Kathrynne’s friends better, and seeing more beautiful qualities in her that I hadn’t noticed before.
Stepping outside your comfort zone is scary. Saying “yes” to new things is often scary. You don’t always succeed. You might not love the new things. Sometimes, you’re tired and your feet hurt and you wish you could be back home in your comfy pants.
But if you never get brave enough to jump off the cliff, to try that new idea, to just start, to invite that person into your life, to open up and be vulnerable, to just say “yes”, you’re missing a world of color and depth and beauty and richness that only exists beyond your comfort zone.
Jesse decided at the very last minute on Wednesday morning to completely rearrange his day, get the kids in the car, and just come to be with us for the day at the Destination Imagination Global Finals.
My mama heart couldn’t have been happier. They got to see Kathrynne’s team give their big presentation, they got to experience a little bit of dorm life with us, and we got to enjoy all sorts of cool experiences at the expo.
It all went so well… until the last few hours. I was frustrated that he had made me late to meet up with everyone on our Destination Imagination team here in Knoxville (I hate inconveniencing other people!) He was frustrated that I hadn’t communicated well (I hadn’t.)
When he left to drive back to Nashville, we still hadn’t worked through it. But he had to go back to meet an out-of-town friend for dinner. So we said a hurried goodbye, even though the tension was thick between us.
Not 15 minutes later, he sent an apology text. And as soon as I read it, my heart felt all twitterpated again. I love this man — even on days when our differences about drive me batty.
Y’all. I know it’s easy to see incredible images online and to forget that the people in those images are real human beings with real issues and real struggles.
Our marriage is not strong because we never argue or snip at each other; it’s only strong because we often argue and snip at each other and we fight through and fight for one another and our marriage.
It’s work. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes patience. It takes forgiveness. It takes the willingness to admit when I’m wrong. It means loving and giving even on the hard days.
Thank you, Jesse, for being willing to do the good, hard work with me. Thank you for going first with the apology and melting my heart all over again. I love you!
(Photo from Gallery By Laura)
How was YOUR week this past week? I’d love to hear!
Lauren G says
We were also at Global Finals! Would love a post on the entire experience! Is she going to do it next year?
Crystal Paine says
I shared quite a bit on Instastories this past week (the videos only show up for 24 hours, though) and on Instagram. She’s planning to do DI again next year because she really fell in love with it!
Katie says
That is quite the adventerous week! We had a quiet week but a nice week.
http://www.myjoyinchaos.com/home/2017/5/mommy-son-date-and-a-big-milestone-4-places-i-found-joy-in-the-chaos-this-week
Anna says
Hey Crystal, you always know how to encourage us, thank you.
I’ve had a very eventful week: I’ve just launched my blog!!
I want to thank you and your readers for helping me believe I could do it! When I started following your blog a few years ago (just looking for recipes) I never imagined I could learn all I have and it never even crossed my mind that I could be doing this one day.
So Thanks everyone for the inspiration!
God bless,
Anna x (SAHM in Cornwall, England)
Natalie says
Awww… Destination used to to be at Iowa State University. Where we lived when we were first married ’11-14 (now back to the East coast where I grew up). Great life lessons in this post, thank you! Would have been awesome to run ?? into you.
Tyla Milian says
So true, a marriage does not have to be perfect to be strong.
My husband and I moved in with my in-laws a year and a half ago. There have been challenges in our marriage and parenting that I never imagined would exist. I have been learning so much.
Your blog continues to be a source of inspiration, your posts are very relatable. Thank you.
Crystal Paine says
Aw, thank you so much for your kind encouragement!
Julie says
Destination Imagination I remember doing that with my daughter. She was in 5th grade. It was me and 2 other parents that lead the team of kids. Back then it was the 1st time at our school. It was an experience that I will never forget and treasure always! Glad you were still able to make it and what a nice surprise that your hubby was able to go as well. Fights come and go but it’s the hard times that make you want to stay even more! By the way my daughter will be 25 on June 11th. Time flies!
Crystal Paine says
Yes! Time does fly!
Laura says
Aww, that is so sweet! I appreciate the fact that you share the good, bad and ugly. Thank you.
I completely understand about travel mix-ups! My husband is on a work trip right now. We booked the finishing touches on a family trip to Knoxville in August. My daughter and I are going out of state to meet family next weekend. My head is a jumble of plans and packing lists, worries and excitement. We realized we had booked our August hotel for the wrong month! Thankfully we realized it before it was too late to get our hotel points back. It’s life.
Crystal Paine says
Oh! I’m so glad you were able to get your hotel points back!