Too Much Trouble

So when is something more trouble than it's worth? I find chaos and disorder terribly stressful, yet as we prepare to have lightning-scorched carpet replaced, moving everything from the two affected rooms into the rest of the house, I am surrounded by what appears to be chaos. Of course, I've tried to label boxes, but you know how it is-- here's an empty space in the 'office cabinet top shelf' box-- let's toss in this little stack of stuff from the bedroom closet. And there goes the perfect organization! The new carpet will be nice, but I don't know that it's worth all this stress.

I wonder about other things I put off because they are more trouble than I want to face at the moment. I so often want to go somewhere or do something with my boys or as a family, but it's just too much trouble to find someone to stay with my mother/grandmother. She's bright and perky for a 93-year-old, but she won't stay alone, and she hates it when I go anywhere without her. She also hates to pay for a companion service to sit with her, and we can't afford to do so. I hate to impose on my sweet in-laws too often, so we end up letting weeks, months, and years pass without doing anything special as a family.

I know that caring for her is the right thing to do, but I would love to have fun with my family sometimes without having to stress over alternative care arrangements and feel as if we have to do everything quickly in order to get back. The boys are growing up so fast-- one will be married this summer, and the youngest is 14. We don't have much more time together, and just as I've had to do with clearing out rooms for new carpet, I probably need to just face the stress and do the thing that matters most. Stress is momentary, but memories are priceless.