So here we are with our standard schedule all spelled out and so now I will take a few lines and drop in some typical deviations from this schedule.  Keep in mind that those items on the standard schedule are still occurring about 99% of the time.

Monday

From now until early April – CJ is on the planning team for a fundraising event for Patch Ministries that occurs in April.  Most Monday evenings from now until then, the planning team meets from 6pm to 8pm in Maryville.  Either JJ has to get GJ ready and into bed at 7:30ish so that MJ can return to Knoxville to pick up VJ who finishes at 7:30 or MJ arranges for one of the team Moms to drive VJ back to Maryville.  If the latter occurs, CJ picks up VJ at the designated ‘drop off point’ immediately following the planning meeting.

Tuesday

Most of the time, this is the one night a week everyone on Team Jackson is together.  We actually are all in one place for the whole evening.  MJ cooks or we order delivery and actually have dinner together.  There is the occasional school program that pops up on Tuesday night from time to time.  Also VJ has an “extra practice” on Tuesday nights about once a month on the uneven parallel bars.  This special session usually is done by 6:00 so CJ can pick up VJ and they get home at a decent hour.  Also once a month, CJ has a board meeting for Patch Ministries on Tuesday evenings.

Wednesday

Pretty much the standard schedule with CJ picking up VJ after practice.

Thursday

This is practice night for CJ and Impact 121.  Practice typically runs from 6:30 pm until about 8pm so this requires similar coordination described in the second half of “Monday” above.

Also both VJ and JJ play an instrument in their respective school bands and it seems that every single band concert is scheduled for Thursday nights.  So, typically this forces us to move Impact 121 practice up and CJ meets MJ and the rest of the crew at the concert site.  Typically just in the nick of time!  J

Friday

Now that marching band season is done for JJ, Friday is back to a standard schedule evening with CJ picking up VJ after practice.

I won’t even get into the weekends because they are always filled with either a gymnastics meet, a band concert somewhere, church, and the occasional extra church function, etc.

So like the title of this installment suggests, we often bend but do not break.  We know that God is in control and as Rhonda indicated in her comment to the first post, we believe that He will not put more in our path than we can handle.  Also we are laser focused on ensuring that everything we do glorifies the Father.  I will go into more detail in my last post and tell you what my takeaways are from this communication with you all.  But one thing I want to share with you at the end of this post is how God has shown me in all of this craziness that MJ is a rock and I praise God for her.  She is a committed believer, a loving and supportive wife, a wonderful mother, and a dedicated employee.  She keeps so many balls in the air at one time that it would make the most experienced juggler gasp.  But she does it all with a wonderful attitude and a giving spirit.

The next and final post on this subject coming soon: 

“So What Have I Learned?”