What Defines "Going Overboard"?

It's a little thing...

I'm celebrating the arrival of the Girl Scout Cookies!

We discovered last year that Noah loves nothing more than a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie (he is his Mama's boy)! As much as he loved those little pieces of heaven, it was agonizing trying to adequately explain to him why I was not able to go to Target or Dillons and get him MORE of them once they were all inside his little tummy!

So this year I prepared...

As I look at this mountainous display of cookies in my freezer (note that it is two rows deep!), I'm asking myself the question, what defines "going overboard"?

My husband would say this picture definitely qualifies as "going overboard". I prefer to describe it as being "prepared" to spoil Noah with his favorite cookies all year long (at least I hope they last that long!).

"Going overboard", or perhaps more appropriately, NOT "going overboard" is something that I struggle with as a parent, and as a person.

I seem to find it difficult to find the right balance between doing "enough" to make the children feel loved and special and "going overboard" to the point that I stress myself out.

Case in point...

I'm currently planning for and preparing Noah's 4th birthday party. He wanted a train-themed party and so I've spent lots of time coming up with different kinds of games to play during the party. You see, my mom always planned special birthday parties for us. She planned every detail, had a theme, and probably went "overboard" by most people's definition. I loved my birthday parties! They are one of my most favorite and vivid memories as a child.

Vance, on the other hand, didn't have big birthday parties. His mother always baked him a cake and they celebrated in a smaller fashion with the family. He, too, remembers his birthdays and remembers feeling loved.

So, what to do.....

As I plan to make Noah feel special on his special day, I've found myself engulfed in a series of party planning activities that are consuming the majority of my day for the past several days. You know, things like...

dyeing macaroni to make "train wheel" necklaces...

spray painting cardboard boxes and making "train cars" out of them...

fussing with the computer for over 2 hours to get the "party express passports" printed just right...

cutting out endless amounts of felt shapes for the "shape train" craft...

And all of the other things that go along with planning a 4 year old birthday party!

Over the course of the past few days, Vance has looked at me on more than one occasion and given me "the look" followed by "the comment"...

"Why do you always (emphasis added!) go overboard?"

My response to this question usually has something to do with wanting to make Noah feel special, to which Vance usually responds that he will feel special without the passport that took the entire night to make!

So, here I am battling this question once again. Am I "going overboard" and what does that mean anyway?

I think I may have a problem with going "overboard" with a lot of things in my life. I feel like I am in a constant battle to slow down, to do less and be less busy...

I don't know what the answer is....

I love to make things special, great, maybe even perfect...

But with my good intention of making things special and great, I sometimes lose sight of the intended purpose of whatever it is that I am doing.

So what does "going overboard" really mean? And is it a bad thing?

I think what it boils down to is what am I "going overboard" on?

Is it something that it taking away from time with family or time with God? If so, then I probably need to scale back.

And maybe I need to work ON "going overboard" in some areas of my life. There are some areas in which I tend to be more on the "just getting by" end of the spectrum. I could certainly work on "going overboard" in my prayer life! And even the slightest hint of "going overboard" in my exercise attempts would be great!

So, as I close these rambling thoughts for today, I don't have the perfect answer to my own question. And I'm certain that Noah would feel loved and special on his birthday no matter what I did for him... passport or no passport!

But...

I feel comfortable in allowing myself to go "overboard" in some areas... especially when it puts a huge SMILE on my precious boy's face!

So after a week of planning, this tired Mama has a sore back, a headache, and is completely exhausted...

So maybe I did go "overboard", but it was worth it! Noah had a perfect day...

It was perfect, but not because of the games, the gifts, and the paraphernalia...

That stuff was fun. But the day was perfect because of the people who were here to celebrate it! It was perfect because Noah is healthy and we have so much to be thankful for! It was perfect because Noah is loved, and he knows it... with or without the passports!

All of the other "stuff" was just the icing on the cake (and the face)!

Happy 4th Birthday Baby Boy (I mean Big Boy)!

Overboard or not, it was a really fun party and the kid's seemed to love it! For more fun party pictures, click here!

One final thought...

After the party was over, Noah came to me, sat on my lap, and said (unprovoked or prompted)...

"Thanks mom for my party. I love it and I appreciate it!"

Yes, he really did use the word appreciate! That, alone, makes "going overboard" worth it!