Where did my Type A go?

I have always had a very Type A personality.

I was a perfectionist, and couldn't rest until things were done right.

I couldn't leave a job half done.

My room was always spotless. Everything had a place, and if it didn't have a place, it wouldn't get to stay.

I never liked clutter, and when my husband and I first got married we had a huge discussion about whether or not the toaster would get to stay on the counter. I didn't want anything on my counter. I liked clean surfaces. My mother keeps the toaster in a lower cabinet and it gets brought out when someone needs to use it. That makes perfect sense to me, but sounded like too much work to my husband. (He won the toaster debate).

I read and research everything before doing it or buying it.

I plan everything to the last detail and hate to veer from that plan.

I worried about everything and over thought everything.

Every illness was deadly.

I was always expecting the worse (and in some cases we got the worse of things, see my *about me* tab).

I was totally expecting this to make me an unreasonable parent. I thought that I would drive our pediatrician crazy with calls, and that people would think I was being too overly cautious (and obsessive) about everything.

I would (and still do) pray constantly that the Lord would give me peace and strength as a parent so I wouldn't drive myself into the looney bin.

I feel like the Lord has answered those prayers.

I almost never call the doctor. I know the important things to look out for, and unless I see those I take the "this too shall pass" attitude.

I don't clean the toys up everyday. Why spend 20 minutes 7 days a week cleaning the toys when they will be a mess again 2 minutes after they wake up anyways. That is over 2 hours a week of cleaning the toys. I will pick them up 2-3 times a week, which gives me back over an hour of time a week. I have learned to be able to live with the scattered toys.

My kitchen often has a dirty dish, pot, and series of sippy cups on the counter. It no longer eats away at me that those things are sitting in there waiting for me. I have other things going on to worry about a messy kitchen. My microwave had splatter in it for I don't even know how long. That would never fly with my former self.

I love to go with the flow now. With napping and toddler moods, when plans are brought up I almost always respond with "we will see how it goes". I found that last minute plans are not evil.

Now don't get my wrong, the Type A still exists where it matters, like the research and treading carefully with new decisions, but it no longer holds me back from living in the moment.The Lord has given me great freedom from that, otherwise I think I would be climbing the walls crazy all the time and not too much fun to be around. I would also be exhausted from scrubbing floors all night long, and worrying over every detail of every moment.

I love the power of prayer and the power of the Lord and all he can do in our lives. Pure freedom!