Whewf! Two weeks until school starts and I am still trying to catch my breath by the whirl wind of summer. Although, it was my boys who zip lined on vacation and not me, I feel like that is how this summer went. Flying right on through, faster than I ever realized!
We returned from a wonderful week of vacation. Fun, laughter, sun, swimming and some great family time. One day back home and a bowl of tomato soup was spilled all over my lap during dinner, the 22 month old pooped in the tub and then we found puddles on the carpet from where she took off her diaper. All happenings within an hour! (It’s obvious she needs to get potty trained.)
The answer if you asked is, no. No, I don’t have it all together. I am not superwoman nor do I have a special task force for managing five busy and active kids. My house is not always clean, almost always a basket of laundry that needs to be folded, I run low on sleep and some nights dinner is sub-par. Through it all, every day, I am learning to be okay with the state of affairs.
My kids may be dressed, have their hair combed and shoes on. More than likely the house left behind has half eaten breakfast on the table, clothes scattered all over the bedroom floor, popcorn under the couch cushions and a load of wash waiting to be started. No, I don’t have it all together.
As I did a head count of my crew at a baseball game, another mother commented as she observed. I get the comments frequently, wow, you have it all together or you are superwoman or how do you manage with five kids, I could never do that. I heard the comments more frequently this summer than usual, probably because the big kids were out of school and we were out and active.
When I asked a friend and beautiful mother of 8 a few years back how she did it, she replied, “You just don’t think about it.” I am learning more and more how true and important these words are to motherhood and life in general. When I stop to think about what I do, how much I give, the sacrifices I make, the things I give up, what I am getting back, what I am missing, etc. the thoughts are turned inward on myself.
When I stop to think about it, the focus is changed from my children to me. The mindset is shifted from giving to getting. The attitude begins to alter from service to selfish. Being able to serve joyfully is robbed by comparison. My vocation begins to suffer, my motherhood begins to suffer.
So how do I manage going from 0 to 5 kids in less than four years? A whole lot of prayer and grace!! An amazing husband who does my dishes. And never stopping to think about it or at least not trying to, because the consequences slow you down.
Tune in to Morning Air on Relevant Radio tomorrow morning at 6:00am CST, I will be talking about miscarriage and adoption, faith and hope. Who will be awake first, me or the toddler, lets hope it’s me!
Leave a Reply