When it's time to take the easy road.

My dryer was fixed recently, right before the weather turned from hot, breezy and dry, to cool, damp, and unpredictable. I gladly threw my wash into the dryer during the yucky weather and thought no more of it.

But recently the weather, while not hot, per se, has been sunny and clear. Yet I kept putting all but two or three loads into the dryer. Why?

It's currently an in-between weather state right now - too cool for effective outdoor drying, too warm to fire up the wood stove. But once the wood stove is burning, I have a feeling there will be line and rack dried clothes in our home again, because it will be faster to dry them by the fire than in the tumbler. It's an in-between state in life as well, since my daughter is in physical therapy 3 afternoons a week and I'm working to get my homeschooled son into opportunities to see and meet friends.The toddler has been both very active and very snuggly, making it hard to get some things done.

I'm tired. I'm moderately frazzled. The rest of the house has been a mess because of the energy I've diverted to first hanging laundry and second coping with managing everyone's schedule. I have more things on my plate than I'm used to, and something had to give.

And that's OK.

Sometimes it's better to use the labor/time saving devices when your time is at a premium. Even if that means that it costs a bit more money (thankfully not much more, as we have a gas dryer), it's worth it. It saves me the mental process of tracking the weather, making sure the wash is hung before 9 AM to give it enough time outside, rotating things on indoor racks to encourage them to dry before tomorrow morning.

Sometimes the easy road lets you reach the destination. Without it, you might end up lost and not getting where you need to go. Take the easy road now and then, if it means you'll be able to cook dinner and hug your kids. Or if dinner is the thing, it's OK to eat pancakes with yogurt for dinner so you can take care of other things.

Once in a while, give yourself a break. You can do more later.