My phone is my alarm. Therefore my phone is also my sworn enemy. That number on there that you can't see for the brightness? 5:30 am. Every. Weekday. Morning. See,
I'm a working mama with 3 boys and a husband who works in the film
industry which, though it may sound glamourous, really just means he's
not home all that much. During the week I pretty much fly solo and so
if anyone is going to make it where they should be on time, it's 5:30 am for me.
Why
so early? Cause life is busy and there are certain things I just know
won't fit into my day once it gets rolling. Things like bible reading,
focused prayer, simple quiet. They wouldn't exist in my world without
this early alarm and so, though I loathe it each morning when a Snow
Patrol song starts lulling me awake, I wouldn't have it any other way. Because
I'm a working mom I need to have myself in order first so that when
Thing One, Thing Two and Thing Three wake up I can focus on helping them
get organized for their day. But first things first, right?
Once the java has settled nicely into my bloodstream it's go time with no looking back. I'll
be honest with you here for just a second, if that's allowed, when Em
first asked me to do this post I thought it'd be fun. But upon thinking
about it through my day I realized I have a really normal, unglamorous
life. I started to second guess whether I should even be doing this
post or not. I mean, who wants to see my messy kitchen and bathroom
counter? But something happened along the way. I'll share that a bit
later. Sometime after the messy kitchen shot. But it would be a lie to
say that I love every second of every moment of my life. Being a mama
is hard work. It means day after day denying my own selfish tendencies
and putting the needs of others before my own. But I believe it's what
I'm called to do. Plus I believe in magic so, there's that.
At 6:30
I start to wake the munchkins one by one and they make their way in a
daze to the bathrooom and file in and out of the shower in a routine
that might resemble bootcamp. In, shampoo, out. In, shampoo, out. If
anyone takes longer than their allotted time I assure you it will only
be once because it just means that the next day they get demoted to the
last one in spot. And nobody likes to be the last one in...
For
the next hour our home is a blur of shower steam and homework papers.
Lunches being packed, backpacks stuffed, planners signed and making
sure everyone has a good solid breakfast. I leave for work when my kids
have about 15 minutes left before they leave for school. Thankfully,
Grandma lives just downstairs and she drives them to school for me most
days.
I'm
so thankful though that I have a job that allows me to work when the
munchkins are in school and I'm off and ready to pick them up from
school every single day. That's magic, dear friends. Pure magic. When
my kids were really little I called that cluster of years, "The Tired
Years". Now that they're 10, 11, and 13 I call this season, "The
Driving Years". It's what I do. I drive to school pick up.
I drive back to school for a second round because SOMEone has SOMEthing
every day after school. It could be film club or basketball or
volleyball or track. Today it just happens to be drumline.
And we make our way back home. Again. But
then something pretty great happens when we're all home and this is
what made me change my view on my unglamourous and unblogworthy life. I
realized that though it may not be the things that reality tv or
hollywood magazines are made of, it's my life and I wouldn't change it
for a million bucks. You know when I started to realize it? When we went to our forest like we do every day after school. Because the forest is magic, man. It really is.
Okay, okay it's not really OUR forest but it might as well be. We've
never ever seen anyone else there and when we get there, everyone
magically gets happy. The stress of the day slips away. Our weary
bodies get renewed. We run and chat and play and we get all the way to
our Hobbit Hole and then we loop around and back. Pure magic. Plus, if
it's a day when the sun is shinin' warm on your back, well now that's
just the ridiculous kind of happy where we all get a little silly and
sing out a song as we hike through the green.
But magic, apparently, has to end at some point and we head back to the
land of dinner and dishes. Let me introduce you to my best friend. Mr. Crockpot.
I'm a meal planning maniac and the crock pot truly is my best friend.
Today I pulled a ziploc bag from the freezer containing homemade
teriyaki sauce and chopped up some chicken and it simmered all day.
When we get home from our forest, the house smells delish! But today
is also the day when I grab one of the munchkins to help me prepare the
meal. I do it once per week in the hopes of teaching them how to cook
but also just to have some one on one gab time. Today my oldest boy
helped make Risotto with Greens and Peas from Gwyneth Paltrow's new
book, It's All Good. (and it truly is ALL GOOD!)
Today
while cooking we conquered some studying for a French test, "How do you
say 'the deflated basketball is underneath the table?" Y'know, the
important stuff. Plus we covered a few relationship issues, some summer
adventures we hope to accomplish and made up dumb jokes while chopping
up the leeks. I'll spare you and you're welcome.
After
dinner is when I start to wind down from the day. Up until then it's
constant go, go, go and talking, talking, talking but it's inevitable
that just as I finish up dishes and wiping down counters, someone has
something that needs to be tackled. It could be a major project at
school, or studying spelling words or fingernails that need some
attention. (evidenced by the picture of the boy handing me flowers) It
could be tears from something that happened at school or breaking up a
sibling argument. All of which are fine with me because they involve
sitting down. And sitting down is not something I do all day, aside
from driving. (Thank goodness for all the driving!)
But
of course today it was a school project that needed desert like
objects. Of course it did! A cactus maybe, mom? Or a snake?
So
we loaded up again in search of a garden shop that was still open and
had a cactus. 3 stores in and I was about to give up but he wasn't.
One more try, mom? And it's in these moments that I remember that this
is what motherhood looks like. It means giving up 'me time' or 'couch
time' or 'I just want silence time' and it means doing what we do for
the littles that we love. We entered the last store and there wasn't a
desert plant to be found but we found some random flower that hadn't
bloomed yet that might just resemble a cactus, if it holds off on the
blooming for awhile!
As
we drove home we stopped on the side of the road collecting rocks and
dead branches and we may have borrowed a bit of sand from the long jump
pit at a school but I promise we'll return it once the desert project is
over!
It's 7pm and I call it quits. No more projects or running around. We need to be done.
Half
an hour later my real best friend and husband (same person!) walks
through the door and the chaos ensues with the ringing out of the words,
"Daddy's Hooooooome!" Words that sing sweet in my ears. Magical
words. Words that mean I'm no longer the only person in charge!
I
go semi-off duty once daddy's home because let's face it, at this point
I'm not that useful. I'm tired and I drop things and my words don't
come out quite right anymore. So we sit and chat, all of us at the
table, as he eats his reheated dinner and then we bustle the munchkins
off to bed. They're old enough to brush their teeth by themselves and to
hop into bed but we choose to be a part of it each day.
This
is when they get some good daddy time as he snuggles in their room with
them and reads to them from the bible. I listen as I putter around,
finishing up the days chores, spending time reading or blogging.
My
days are full and so is my heart. I love this little family of mine,
our days and our quirks and our routines. I love the hard work of it
and how the sweet parts really truly feel like magic.
Thanks for being a part of it with us today!
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