You know you are a REAL mom when…
*You ran out of nursing pads, so you just stick a dish rag in your bra (it was clean at least).
*You call the doctor and ask for three appointments and the nurse asks, “So, which one is healthy?”
Oh Monday! You could have been better to me between the rag in my bra, the forgetting to brush my teeth ALL day, the lack of fresh coffee, and three doctors appointments and three different medications.
My Awesome Husband is a salesman. He sells all things dental. This means we get lots of samples in the mail all. the. time. And it makes my heart happy when it is something we get to keep things like:
-hand sanitizer (Did you know your hands need to stay wet from the liquid for a whole minute in order to actual kill bacteria?)
-rubber gloves (I love the look and feel of the dark purple and blue ones but the light blue ones do just fine.)
-toothpaste (We love us some Colgate and will never run out.)
-toothbrushes (Colgate brand again.)
-floss (Can you tell our teeth are going to always be awesome?)
-tooth flossers (I have no clue the name of these but they work for the laziest of flossers.)
-tooth picker thingies (It’s that thing that the dentist uses to pick your teeth.)
-surgical masks (In case of an outbreak of SARS, we will be covered in this house.)
-surgery drapes (This kind of makes me feel like we could do some under ground surgeries on the cheap.)
-hand soap (I hate the aloe kind but it’s free and beggars can’t be choosers.)
Tonight I ate a wonderful meal a friend brought over. This was an answer to prayer. The friend, not the meal. Well, maybe the meal too;)
We have lived in Cedar Rapids for almost four years now (we actually have lived here pretty much our entire lives but I am counting after college and married). It was hard living here. I felt like I lacked friends. My best friend was over an hour away and my other close friends were dispersed across the country.
I felt lonely. So I prayed for friends. I cried to my husband about the lack of friendship I felt. I asked him to pray with me that I might find friendship someday.
Years past. The prayers became less frequent. There were fewer tears shed.
Through a series of seemingly random events (that really weren’t random at all) we ended up at our current church and God blossomed acquaintances into friendships. And it wasn’t until just recently that I realized my prayers from years ago had been answered. I had waited for soooooo long for friends. And God was faithful to give. Did it suck to wait for these wonderful people? Yes. Yes it did. But maybe God was refining me or showing me what true friendship was or showing me that first I needed Him or that friendship is more than going to a mommy group with other mommies (don’t get me wrong, I think they are great!) or that fulfilling my prayer now would mean I would miss out on something even better or that something great was just on the horizon but I needed to be patient.
Anyway, tonight my friend brought my family dinner. Why? Because she remembered me saying that appointment days are long days regardless of how many tests or procedures are done (anyone who has been to the UIHC knows that). She remembered because she cared for her friend. And that friend was me.
Tonight I want to say thank you to her for being a true friend. For remembering passing words. For being a servant to us. For showing us love. For watching my children. For encouraging words. For prayers answered.
This is what God intends, people. This is what Church looks like. This is friendship.
And I want to publicly say ‘Thanks Be To God’ for answering a prayer that seemed like at times it might never be answered this side of heaven. My God is THE true friend who cares, who listens, who says “Wait. There is something better than a momentary fix.”
He takes care of me. I am blessed.
You know you are a REAL mom when…
*You don’t zip your son’s pants because a) little zippers are as hard as rocks to zip and b) it saves you time and c) you are pretty sure no one notices.
*You get home from taking stuff to Goodwill to find a few items had been taken out by a certain little girl because she liked the dresses too much.
The box was sitting by Eden in the car and she starts crying when my Awesome Husband hands the goods over to the worker. ”Hey! What is that man doing with all my pretty clothes?” That girl would get rid of all her toys but would keep every article of clothing that ever touched her fingers. I think she might be a shopaholic someday.
I am a hot mess most days (and quite literally today I am HOT! Hello 90 degree weather!) but aren’t we all?
I like to think that my home is run like a well run ship. But honestly, it is more like a dinky paddle boat with a whole in it and me trying to bail out the water that keeps coming in. And I am more okay with that now with four children and less control over everything, than I was with one child when I seemingly had more control (but I could argue that I had the same amount of control but really had less).
Today we went to the park. I just up and decided that today the sun was calling our names, so out the door we went. And I met a lady who complimented me on getting out of the house with four children in tow because when her kids were little she felt like it was impossible. There was a time when leaving the house with any amount of children freaked. me. out. Now I just give my kids “the playground talk” (give them a pep talk about having fun and how other kids aren’t as outgoing as they are so don’t try and hug them or hold their hands) and let them run. Someone inevitably ends up with something scraped and needing a kiss or climbing to high and needing to be carried down. I end up sweating carrying a half-ton load of children back to the car. And to the outside world I am sure it looks like chaos (because it is) but there is something beautiful in letting go of control; letting go of the “perfect” mom picture.
So today I am thankful for the chaos and the beautiful mess I live in.
Today has been a day. My kids moods were racing the weather to see who could cause the biggest storm and my kids won. Hands down. They were whiney and mean and naughty. I was at my wits end most of the morning. I even sent an SOS text to my Awesome Husband after Eden and Cooper managed to pulled down my mom’s curtains and curtain rod from the wall.
It was one of those days when a friend called at 9:45 and asked how I was doing, I responded I was ready for nap time. Already. It was one of those days when I needed a vacation NOW, not some time in the distant future. It was one of those days when I finally got everyone put down for nap and fixed the curtains that I prayed Garrison wouldn’t wake up as I sat down so I could have a few kid free minutes. It was one of those days where I was worn out before the day began.
I was exhausted.
As I sat there on the couch, I listened to a song over and over again and it truly sung to my worn out soul.
