Day in the Life: A
Friday in May
Last month I told you
about a random Thursday in Shafferland. This month, I thought I’d follow along for
a Day in the Life again, but on a Friday instead! I actually
picked this day on purpose, because I had a speaking event that day and
thought you might like to see what a speaking day looks like!
A Friday in May
Ryan is 45, Bekah is 45, Braeya is 18, Lexi is 2 (Two of us have leveled up on
age since last month!)
Weather: Sunny with a high of 64. It might be chilly for May, but it’s rained
for several days, so I am just happy to see the sun.
MORNING:
Here’s
a fun fact to start the day: I totally forgot, when I woke up, that today
was a Day in the Life Day. Whoopsie! So I failed to record the morning
routine, but you’ve already seen it four times this year, so I’m sure you won’t
be brokenhearted to not see a bunch of repeat photos.
Ryan
gets up first and does his morning prayer time/coffee/Bible reading, and Braeya
and I hang out in bed just a little bit longer. I finally get up, have
some water, pour my first cup of coffee into this sweet mug. (It was a
gift from Tim and Justine when we worked at WillowBridge. The quote was from
one of our tenants.)
I
sit down to write in my journal and do my morning Bible reading. As usual, I
love the insights from Nancy Guthrie in Discovering Jesus in the Old
Testament. I also do my Sunday School passage study, and today it’s from 1
Thessalonians 5:12-22. The theme this month is unity and community!
I
make our bed while Ryan showers and then pack Ryan’s lunch with the last of the
leftover chicken salad sandwich recipe from a couple of days ago. I throw in an
apple and love note and call it a Friday!
I
get ready while he unloads the dishwasher and cleans out litter boxes. The sun
is out, and the morning is shaping up to be just beautiful!
Ryan
leaves for work, Lexi heads to our bed for a morning nap, and I sit down with
yogurt, mixed berries, and some sliced almonds for my breakfast. I send an
email to my friend while I eat, and then it’s time to start working. And THAT
is when I see my sticky note about documenting the day. So now I can pick up
from there! 😊
Ryan
sends a picture from work. He’s recording the daily announcements. This isn’t
normally his job, but the person who usually does it is on vacation, so he’s
filling in. He actually really likes doing it, so it’s a fun “other duty as
assigned” for his day.
I
clear my inbox and send some messages that are pressing. Then it’s time to
refill the coffee cup and settle in for a meeting with one of my Steering
Committees. They have just advanced to the next step in the process, and I need
to tell them what is ahead for them!
After
our meeting, I send follow up emails and notes – and while I do so, I eat my
morning snack of cottage cheese.
One
of my jobs is to mail packets for my Steering Committees to present to school
administrators when they meet with them, and I have three sets of packets ready
to mail. It’s a GORGEOUS day outside, so it’s a perfect time to make a quick
drive to the post office. I get them sent off, log my receipt in the expense
app, and then head back home. I also file my paper receipt in my work file and
then get back to my computer to resume answering messages. (Might also refill
the coffee again. Small cups = more refills.)
Shortly
before lunch, I have a “water cooler” meeting with one of my coworkers. We do
this every week just to catch up on our jobs and lives. It’s one of my favorite
meetings each week! When we’re done, I have just a half hour left before I’m
done for the day. I have the afternoon off because of my speaking engagement
tonight. So I clean up the rest of my tasks and prepare my out-of-office reply.
Ryan
sends a picture of himself holding vintage gum. The activities department at
work is doing a fun thing for residents – teaching them about the history of
gum. His coworker found all these cool vitage gum flavors and bought them for
the adventure. He knows I hate gum, so he sends the picture just for friendly
picking on me. 😊 Then he FaceTimes me for about five minutes while he eats
lunch. Lexi enjoys her lunch while we talk, and then she’s back to sleep!
At
noon, I put on my out-of-office responder and fix my own lunch of leftovers.
I’m having the same leftover chicken salad with homemade bread, and today I add
an apple to the mix. Ryan also brought me a cookie as a treat yesterday, so
have that to look forward to! While I eat, I go ahead and post the Saturday
Suggestions blog for tomorrow. We won’t get home until very late tonight, and
all I want to do then is add in the final capsule wardrobe picture and fall
asleep! I’ve been curating the post all week, so it’s ready to go.
I
finish my lunch and the blog, send a quick Marco to my sister, and then I put
away the dishes that have been drying on the counter all morning since Ryan
emptied the dishwasher! The kitchen is all nice and clean now! I remember that
the clothes I washed yesterday are still sitting in the dryer, so I go turn
that on to fluff them. I want to have all that put away before we have to
leave.
While
those fluff, I change my clothes out of the work wardrobe into the capsule
wardrobe outfit of the day. When I speak, I try to dress up, and for a tea like
this one, I would ordinarily wear a dress. But they have indicated I will be
wearing a mic, which means I need to wear something with a waistband so I can
clip on the battery pack. So I go for khakis and a dressy shirt and sweater.
The
clothes finish up, Lexi lays on the bed, and I start putting everything away. I
listen to a Marco while I work and have just a couple of minutes to send a
quick response at the end. Lexi is ready for her snack, and right after she
finishes it, I hear a car in the driveway. Ryan ends up coming home a whole
hour EARLY – YAY!!!!!! – and brings with him the Mother’s Day cards he bought
while he was out and about. I still have some final packing to do before we can
leave, so while I work on that, Ryan takes Lexi out for a quick walk. I am so
grateful for this blessing, because we’ll be gone a while, and getting the
wiggles out will be so helpful for her!
I
have an info sheet for every speaking engagement I do. It includes all kind of
practical information like the name of the location, the time to be there, the
door to enter, the contact person’s name and phone number, what to wear, what
to take, etc. Normally I have these printed out well in advance, but I got
behind this week, so my first order of business is to print my info sheet,
hole-punch it, and put it in my speaking binder. I double check my binder to
make sure it has my talk and Ryan’s copy of the talk inside.
I
grab my tote bag and throw in my table items. A tablecloth (in case they don’t
have one, business card holder, brochures, change bag, signs for my book prices
and QR code for payment. I also toss in a couple of table decorations borrowed
from the dining room – just to spruce up the look of the table. I put my laptop
in my bag, just as a precaution, in case something went wrong with the Power
Point I sent a few days ago.
I
pack protein balls for snacks, wrap my coffee creamer in an ice pack, and put
it all in my insulated lunch tote. We don’t travel without snacks and creamer!
Ryan
has already put my book boxes in the car – one box for each of the two books
I’ve published. I double check to make sure they’re in there, and then it’s
time to add my items for the night, so the car is packed and ready to go when
Ryan and Lexi return.
They
come back, Lexi gets a drink, and Ryan brings in the mail. I have happy mail!
One of the young ladies from the Bible study I’ve been leading this spring has
sent me the nicest, most encouraging card. I tear up reading it! I also decide
this world needs more encouraging mail.
We’re
all ready to go, so Ryan takes my capsule wardrobe photo, and I go to the car
while he gives Lexi her dinner (really early) and locks up the house.
We
are ready to go about an hour ahead of schedule, and I’m so glad, because we’re
going to hit Indianapolis at rush hour. Lord, help us all!
It
is a GORGEOUS day for a drive. Look at those clouds! I love having Ryan drive
me to my events. I grab a quick nap while he drives, and I wake up in time
for…coffee! Ryan tells me he got a message that today is half price day at Starbucks,
so we stop to get a little latte treat.
Freshly
caffeinated, we head into Indianapolis, and while we never come to a
standstill, it’s not pretty. We pass lots of accidents, weave through lots
of construction, and Ryan begs me to just go back to sleep until it’s over. Ha!
Not a chance.
Eventually
things get a little less harried, and I pull out my talk to review it again
before we arrive. Right around the time I finish that, we find more slow
traffic. Womp womp.
EVENING
I’m
speaking in Greencastle, Indiana, which is about three hours from our house. We
have never been to Greencastle, so we drive around a little when we get to
town. We make our way to the church, which is a really pretty building!
When
we arrive, we go inside to find the contact person, and she is a gem.
She shows us around the church and offers to help us carry in our things. We
carry in my books and set up the table in the corner of the beautiful
eating space. They have done a wonderful job setting up this tea!
I
meet the sound guy, get my mic, do a sound check, and start mingling with the
ladies. Ryan is such a sport – he jumps right in and eats with all of us! The
ladies at our table are so kind and welcoming, and we have the best time
talking with them.
After
dinner, we move into the sanctuary, where we enjoy some music and then it’s
time for me to speak. This crowd is so attentive and kind. The topic tonight is
“Pouring In, Pouring Out.” It’s over all too soon, and I spend some time at my
book table, meeting the ladies.
Ryan
helps me pack up and we load the car. Before leaving town, we stop at Casey’s
for fresh brew for the ride home.
The
traffic is much lighter going home, and we do a little car karaoke on
the way! It’s dark by the time we get back to Indianapolis, and though my
picture is lousy, seeing the skyline at night is always sweet. Know what is NOT
sweet? Getting in the wrong lane in construction and ending up having to do a
major back-track. Sigh.
I
scroll social media as we drive and learn the Northern Lights are visible! We
can’t see them with our eyes, but my camera picks them up! Once we exit the
interstate, Ryan finds an empty country road and pulls over so we can take some
pictures. What a cool bonus to the day!
About
a half hour from home, we stop to get fuel – grateful for a gas card we were
gifted earlier this month.
We
get home just before midnight – tired, but thankful to have a safe trip behind
us. Lexi is beside herself with joy to see us and is most ready for her snack!
Ryan
gets the coffee pot set for Saturday morning and makes Lexi’s Kongs. I unpack
my bags and put everything away.
We
are so tired, but Lexi needs some time with us after SO many hours being away,
so we settle in on the couch. I finish the blog and all three of us fall
asleep. We stay there until about 2 a.m. when Ryan wakes up and suggests we
head to bed.
It’s
been a long day, but it sure has been a good one!
