kindred spirits-a lesson learned

I sat down to write about one thing, but fate is leading me to write about another. My friend Jennifer wrote this blog post Reconnecting and it hit home. We can get so caught up in our own stuff, life falls through the cracks. Whether its clothes that pile up, the floor that needs to be steam mopped, or the another load of laundry needs to get run-it happens. This week life happened. The house sat and we played. A lot. We went out everyday, had swim lessons, summer camp, errands for groceries and canning supplies. We had lunch out (oh my, I cracked open my wallet! ;) ) and we had easy dinners at home. Life happened.

We were late for swim lessons one day-and I had an epiphany while we were getting ready to head out. When you yell and out-you get nowhere-fast. I have grown accustomed to juggling four little bodies, but what I have yet to get accustomed to is having three of those four help out as much as we need to-as much as I'd like, if I want to remain sane years from now. I asked, cajoled, threatened (which of course did not work, and I apologized after the fact). Finally, I said we're going in x number of minutes, I've told you what we needed, you had time to get your stuff, and we're going. The kids said they had their stuff, so we went to swim lessons. 40 minutes later, the kids are back at the car, and we're looking for towels. No one had brought them. I said well, we know for next time, right? They were glum for a few minutes (and I felt bad, but I felt like I did the best I could getting everyone together for at least 3/4 their swim time). Thankfully it was a warm morning, and once the boys were in warm clothes, they were in better moods. The next day was smoother of sorts, the stuff that had been forgotten was not forgotten again. It still wasn't "perfect", but life never is truly "perfect".

I cannot be everywhere at once, and just need to stay in the moment. So I did the best I could, I took care of the baby, helped Elijah get dressed, the big kids learned a lesson, and I didn't rub it in their faces. I am always telling the kids, I'm doing the best I can, if we're partners we'll get further, and go more places. It just takes time, and at the end of the day, I want my kids to remember the stuff that counts. Like me taking them for swim lessons, and not me yelling over forgotten towels.