So I wrote this post yesterday about Adjusting Expectations and how I am realizing that it’s ok not to be able to do what I used to be able to do and that the best thing would be to adjust my own personal expectations.

So I’ve pulled out my marauder’s map and evaluated life as it is currently and here are the adjustments I am vowing to make:

1. I’m going to skip school events that aren’t totally necessary. Now this doesn’t mean I won’t be involved. I’ll still read all the papers that come home and get the Remind101 Notifications and fill out all the forms (so. many. forms.) But, while it would be nice to attend back to school night and book fair night and even meet the teacher night <gasp>, these nights are typically chaotic, provide you with a few distracted minutes maximum with teachers and throw off the evening routines for everyone. Once we get back into the house and settled, we can start them up again, but I’m giving myself leave to just say no for a little while.
2. I’m going to stop ‘expecting’ stuff to happen on the house and start being pleased with everything I see that has changed. Too many times our contractor says, “this and this are going to start on x day” and when it doesn’t happen I get disappointed and sad. It seeps into the rest of the day and my relationships. At this point I can see the light at the end of the tunnel so I’m just gonna hang on and try to be Suzy Sunshine until we get approved to move back in!
3. I’m vowing to not sweat the small stuff at work. With the acquisition we’re going through, decisions don’t get made quickly and just finding out who needs to be involved in said decisions has been difficult. I’m used to a quick pace with lots of leeway and easy access to decision makers so this is a change for me. Things will work themselves out as they need to! Meanwhile I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and spend a little time on documentation and cleanup in my org! I’ll take advantage of the time for that!
4. Some adjustments are harder than others and this one is a big one. I’m leaving the band. No, it’s not to strike out on my own and it’s not due to irreconcilable differences with my band mates. It’s just the perfect storm right now – the band is ramping up for Dreamforce with songs and videos and rehearsals and these next few weeks between work and the kids and the house I just don’t feel like I’m able to put in 100%. And that’s not fair to the others who are organizing and participating and giving it their all! When we started out the band it was just for a single live performance, which turned into a few laid back videos, but has evolved into this much larger thing. I love writing the parodies and have a ton of fun singing with the group, but if I can’t go all in, then I am short-changing them and I don’t want to do that. So I’m stepping back and am looking forward to being a Groupie!
5. Another adjustment that is long overdue is a health-check. I’ve never exactly been a health nut (just a regular old nut), but my eating habits have gone downhill, I drink too many beers at night and don’t exercise to speak of. I know if I ate better, drank less and worked out more I’d ultimately create some more balance in my life so I’m challenging myself to do better! And if doing better helps me feel better then it is a win/win!

So there are my adjustments for now – I can officially say “Mischief Managed” and put away that map.

After Dreamforce and after we are in the house and settled again I can re-evaluate my evaluations. For now this shall do!