The Going-Away Mentality

The days in my neck of the woods are still somewhat cool. We have had some picture perfect days. Where I live, those days are a sign that summer is fast approaching. My heart longs for the days when the sun burst through and the clouds vanish.

As I have been preparing summer activities for my family, it has kept me occupied. Although I have not written anything in stone, I do have some ideas of what I wanted to do this summer. Some of those include learning Hebrew with one of my sons and jewelry making with my youngest daughter. While my ideas seem to increase, I knew summer time didn't. I had to start narrowing things down. So many things on my list (that's posted inside my head that no one can see) included a lot of time away from home. That's when I remember reading about "The Going-away Mentality"

I found it while reading this book.

The Going-away Mentality:

"What is a going-away mentality? It is the mentality that we need an abundance of social activities that make us run hither and yon to have a good time and do fun things. It means going shopping, mostly just to see what is there and to have something to do. It means going to see a friend, even though we just saw her last evening in church. Sometimes it means committee meetings, birthday surprises, baby showers, Tupperware parties, or something similar. We are restless and discontent unless we have somewhere to go. This mentality gnaws at family life a little like a dog gnaws at a bone, and soon nothing is left. It takes a family to have a family life, and if part of the family is missing, the circle is not complete."

Whew! That was a mouthful. It was said quite nicely compared to how an older woman told me in my earlier years of establishing my family. She simply told me to "stop running the streets." Appalled as I was, I couldn't get mad at her because she was telling me the truth.

It is not that this woman didn't want me having fun. She saw that I was to busy outside of my home, when I should have been busy inside my home. The only way I can do that is if I was home.

It is amazing what can get done around my home when I apply my energies here. It is not to say that the children and I will not venture outside the home this summer. The important thing is to learn boundaries. Learning when to say "no" to things that can disrupt the family life at home. I must say goodbye to some things and say hello to new opportunities that await me here at home.