Thank you, Heather!

Heather was here for several hours today.  She came for Conference Bingo, a family tradition during the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference.  We have an enormous stainless steel bowl (one of the best wedding gifts EVER!! --- Thanks, Aunt Leilani) which we fill with candy, small bags of chips, little cans of soda, and cheap toys and prizes.  We had a blast, even when Austin coughed with a mouth full of chewed up Doritos and we had to shield ourselves from the Dorito storm.

After bingo and bingo cleanup, we ate delicious saucy chicken and vegetables for dinner.  I try to make an extra yummy dinner when Heather visits, because I know she looks forward to having something that Mom made.  We ate dinner and watched a movie, then as I cleaned up a bit in the kitchen, Heather sat herself at the computer in the kitchen.

Heather and I were chatting and laughing as I worked and she surfed the net, and then I was a bit surprised when Heather said, "I hate paying bills".  I hadn't realized that was what she was up to.  But it reminded me that there were a couple of bills I had been meaning to pay for the last week, so after Heather had gone home, I sat down to pay those bills while I was thinking about it. 

There's something about the thought of checking a bank account and paying bills that can

*send a chill up and down my spine
*make me ill
*make me feel discouraged
*make me angry

among other reactions.

But I've noticed something. 
Once I've sat and done the deed, I find myself

*breathing more easily
*feeling more in control
*knowing exactly where I stand
*feeling good about myself

among other reactions. 

I had been occasionally thinking over the past week that I needed to pay those bills, that I didn't want to do it, and that money worries are the worst stressors in the world.  But the worst stress of all is the THINKING ABOUT IT!!!  Not just thinking, but stewing.  That's the worst.  And I do it to myself!  Money that I don't have doesn't present itself to me and dance in front of me, taunting me.  I envision that all on my own.  My bills don't speak to me from their resting places in the house, "Here we are, just waiting!  Aren't you ever going to take care of us?  We're going to suck all the fun out of your day!!"  I imagine that on my own.  And I know the solution.  Stop stewing and just do something about it.  Pay that nagging bill as soon as I can.  Look over that bank account the second I think I need to.  Just do it!!  It's amazing what happens.  My load is lightened.  My attitude shifts.  Even the light around me seems brighter and better. 

So.....
Thank you, Heather, for reminding me to pay my bills today.  I feel so much better.