Aside from the "fun" busy there is always SO much to be done. Phone calls to be made, bills to pay and agonize over, decisions, BIG decisions to make, people to miss and hours to fill so I don't go crazy. Just one morning I would like to wake up slowly, enjoy my hot coffee with my girls and sweet boy and NOT think about that looming, f-ing to do list.
WHENEVER and I do mean WHENEVER I am out with the girls I get comments on them, about them. Mostly always sweet and thoughtful like "oh how cute!" or "such sweethearts!" but lately I've been getting a lot of "oh, to be a baby again...that was the life" and "how happy they look! Not a care in the world".
Its made me think, made me feel better in fact, that I'm not the only adult out there that thinks "this kind of sucks!" every once in a while. I feel so fortunate that in between the bill paying and meal planning, worrying and scurrying, that I get to play with my girls, remember what it felt like to be that secure, that carefree and happy. Of all the great things about being a parent, that's one of my favorites.
So this morning as I SCREECHED at Ainsley yet ONE MORE TIME to just PLEASE come downstairs, STOP messing with the soap in the bathroom and for the love of all that is good and holy PLEASE PUT YOUR SHOES ON SO WE CAN GET SOME GROCERIES!!!!! I had a moment. I stopped and chuckled to myself. How great to be so distracted, so CONTENT with a handsoap pump and some water. How great to NOT have to think about groceries and budgets and hauling 5 bags full plus 2 gallons of milk plus 50 pounds of child from the house to the car to the store and back. How great.
So today during nap I got some things done. I forwent the laze and summer heat that was calling my name and made some phone calls, did some work and while I may not feel rested I sure do feel better, clearer, and more able to focus on the afternoon fun with my girls. Afterall library books won't choose and collages won't glue themselves.
Today I am thankful for one last day of summer heat to remind me of the lazy days gone by. Today I am thankful for stuff getting done, both of the fun and icky adult responsibility persuasions. Today I am thankful for a hot house because tomorrow it will be cool and empty as we greet the fall with a full on bustle. Today I am thankful for my girls who once again bring me back to the important stuff, and for my husband who helps me take care of the icky stuff and so much more.
Happy Monday!
::a few photos from the weekend, quiet Louise time and apple picking::
Oh, the hustle. It's the thing that, as a stay at home parent, makes you more accountable than any other group of people. When you're tired and sick of it, you don't get to stop. There's no lunch hour or uninterrupted potty breaks. You can't turn to your kids and say, "I quit." (Although I did once tell mine I was boycotting since no one listens anyway.) You have to keep going and keep doing your best. And as long as that's the path you take- the best you can with what you have at the time- then you're always doing right by your children.
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