The Important, Ordinary Day

Woke up this morning and went to pray.  As usual a few minutes later one of the children joined me and curled up in my lap.  Monday it was Annie; Tuesday was Alex and today was Kristiana.  When the kids sit in my lap I feel distracted and rushed, but I am glad I am getting this time to pray anyway.  All the children were awake and hungry minutes after I finished praying.  I kept thinking I need to get a shower, but had things to attend to.  Around 8:00 a.m. my husband woke up and asked me what time Kristiana's ear doctor appointment was.  "Oh! I completely forgot.  Thank you, honey! It's at 8:30!"  So I jumped in the shower and asked my husband to help the kids get on their shoes.  We were out the door ten minutes after my husband had initially alerted me and showed up on time.

At the doctor we had to wait a long time, because their computers were down.  Oh boy! I questioned whether it was right of them to make everyone wait so long or if they should reschedule some people.  It was very difficult to corral three preschool aged kids in an inhospitable place for so long.  But we finally saw the doctor, which I was grateful for and it did seem like they were trying really hard to keep things moving.  By the time the doctor came in to see us Annie was bored to tears and had trouble not fussing and screaming.  It was hard to converse with the doctor.  He said one of Kristiana's eardrums did not look good, but was not a candidate for a tube yet.  The other ear already has a tube.  I asked if it did not look good because she was just getting over a cold or if it just did not look healthy in general.  He said it just did not look healthy.  There was no fluid behind it and it was vibrating normally, but not healthy looking.  Later that day she complained about ear pain, which now I have to call back and ask if it could be infected.  Poor girl.

After the long time at the doctor's office, I decided to run some errands.  We went to Michaels to pick up a birthday present, but it turned into a more expensive trip than I anticipated.  I really need to be more strict with myself and what I intend to spend when I go into stores like this.  You would laugh at me if you really knew how little I spent and the fact that I am complaining.  But, I did not go in there thinking I would spend that much.

Then I went to a gym and signed up for a gym membership.  Now I have no more excuses, I have to go get exercise.  I am paying for it after all.  Or what I am really paying for is the childcare, which is wonderfully reasonable when you consider you get childcare and a top fitness facility.  My children played in the kids area while I signed up for membership and loved it.  They loved it when I took them to the YMCA in Washington over the summer.  After they played at the Washington Y, they were rewarded by getting to play in the pool afterward, but they will not have that same great kids pool now.  I have a feeling they will tire of this kids place quickly.  But, I am going to ride out their enthusiasm while it lasts.

We finally made it home at lunchtime.  Annie was asleep.  She has been having lots of trouble sleeping on her own since our holiday travels.  But, today I laid her down and she slept for two hours.  It was a much needed rest for her and mommy.

I made myself and the other kids lunch and they watched television for a couple of hours.  In the meantime, I checked my email and Facebook.  Then I worked on my Mother's Rule.  This Rule is my schedule/rule that allows me to serve God and the five P's of life best (Prayer, Person, Partner, Parent, Provider).  I am still working on reading "A Mother's Rule of Life."  I took a break to do some other reading.  Now I feel I need to complete this book and refine my Rule.  I hope this Rule will suit my family as well, because parts of it I will need their cooperation--like for attending family prayer, chores, getting dressed in the morning and so forth.  I like how this book emphasizes self-awareness and serving God first.

After our long lunch break, I asked the kids to clean up their toys because friends were coming over and it's much nicer to play in an area that is cleaned up and organized.  They agreed and promptly moved the toys they wanted to play with to a clean open space in the house and began to play.  Smart kids, but not exactly what I had in mind.  Nevertheless, they were quietly and creatively playing.  So I decided to tidy their play area, which I knew I was going to help them with anyway, and just let them play.

While I was tidying the toys, my mom called to see how I was doing and to suggest names for our baby.  I told her that I did not think that we would name our baby any of the names she suggested.  None of them really hit me.  But, I am open to hearing name, because you never know when you will hear the perfect name.  I mentioned that the kids had already picked a name they liked for the baby.  And she immediately said she did not like it.  I explained that Andrew and I liked it too and it was a name we had considered before.  Then she was so bold to say that we should choose a name that was aesthetically pleasing.  It was a stab to the heart.  Of all the rude things to say.  It did not occur to her that when I said WE LIKED the name that we felt it was aesthetically pleasing and she should be respectful of a name we liked.  (I should mention that the name is not unusual or harsh to the ear).  Yes, fire rained down from there.  It was not a civil conversation from that point on.  I took a jab back at what she had named me.  She of course did not like my jab and was offended by my accusation that perhaps my name was not the most aesthetically pleasing choice.  But, at least she knew what it felt like when she had said what she said to me.  This is my child to name after all, and I promised it will be a tasteful, holy name.  Say what you will about my name, but no one ever pronounced it right at first glance.  It was hard to say at loud gatherings.  But, eventually I grew to love my name and owned the identity for myself.

Finally, friends came over and we all visited and played.  Things got crazy.  Sometimes I worry that my children lack social graces.  It may be because of their age or may be because every thing your own children do seems so much worse, and everyone else's children seem perfectly, well-behaved, which they would tell you otherwise.  It was not my finest dinner soiree and I am so embarrassed at my service.  There was a lot of "it's okay" said.  Fortunately, the people we were visiting with are like family and it really is okay to be a little embarrassing amongst people you are so close with.

Everyone was exhausted at the end of the day and crashed after a short clean up.  This included my husband.  And I am sitting up late into the night logging my day.  I cannot tell you why it seemed so important to log this day of all days.  It seems every day is busy and eventful.  I do not know what I would do with myself if my life were not so full.  I am so very grateful to be graced in this way--Good and loving God, perfect husband, beautiful children, good healthcare, money in our pockets, time for oneself, prosperous decisions, a bounty to tidy, amazing friends to share our bread. Wow, is all I have to say.

I do not know how they ended up like this, but I just had to take a picture.  
I think Annie just came and sat on Kristiana who was lying on the floor fussing.