Just Another Day at the Office

I went biking instead of running this morning.  My running partner is hurt so we are cross training.  We saw some wild tulips.  Is there such a thing?  There must be because I saw them with my own eyes.  Some dogs chased me. I didn’t bring my pepper spray because I thought I could outrun anything on my bike.  I had to scream instead.  That worked out ok.

I brought forgotten homework to class for someone who shall remain nameless.  I insisted Maren get dressed for the occasion even though I still had my exercise clothes on.  Within thirty seconds of getting home she had her pajamas back on.

We had the portable crib out yesterday while I was watching a friend’s little girl.  Maren spent all day in it.  In her pajamas.

With Buddy.  He didn’t seem to mind too much.  She even ate her lunch in there.

Who needs dolls when you have a little dog?

Imagine if I had told her she had to stay in there all day.  That wouldn’t have gone over so well. 

I picked Jenna up from school early since they thought she had pink eye.  Fortunately my friend was here visiting so I didn’t have to get Maren out of her pajamas again!

We bought some vintage Polly Pockets at the thrift store for fifty cents.  I didn’t know that’s what they were.  When Abby told me there was a “PP” on the bottom it clicked. I do remember my cousins getting those cute little houses for Christmas.  If I may be so bold, Polly has gotten a little hoochy since her early days. 

Anyway, I made the mistake of letting Abby look for the pieces on ebay.  Those came today in the mail.  She is an ebay addict now.  Is there a twelve step program for that?

It was a double crock pot night.  I made my famous honey buns because I was pretty sure no one would like what was in the crockpots very much.  I accidentally put baking soda in instead of baking powder.  I had no eggs so I put in a little oil.  They came out looking like shriveled up potatoes.  Everyone needed a big snack before bed.

Annie had her first baseball practice.  She is very excited about that.  She needs Gatorade before her next practice though.  She wanted to stop and get some at the bar but I thought we could wait until I could get to the grocery store.

I even found Jenna’s old baseball pants and cleats for her in the storage room.  That was a feat in itself.  Someday I’ll organize it.

Abby and Maren and I played on the park during practice.  I think it’s pretty good that was only my third trip to school for the day.

I’m going on a field trip with the third grade tomorrow.  I’m doing it for my daughter.  It seems there are lots of things I’d rather do for my daughter than ride a bus for an hour with a bunch of 9 year olds.  Like buy Polly Pockets on ebay or shave my head or jump out of an airplane. 

Updated to say:  Or get pink eye and stay home to take the other pink eyes to the doctor only to find out I have strep again and Mare has an ear infection.

It’s just another day at the office.

A River Runs Through It

We have a new-ish tradition of going to a park and cooking over a fire for Mother’s day with whoever wants to come.  The bathroom facilities leave a lot to be desired.  BYOTP:  Bring Your Own Toilet Paper. But the scenery and adventure makes it all worth it.

There are lots of rocks, sticks and mud to play with in the river.

It was fun pouring handfuls of dirt into the water.

And throwing sticks

Playing Games

Roasting Marshmallows

Eating S’mores

It was loads of fun.  Especially since I didn’t have to use the bathroom once!

Rising Above, Part 3

I consumed caffeine this weekend for the first time in a few months and that may explain why my brain went into overdrive the last few nights.  I ran a little race and rewarded myself with lots of Diet Coke.  It served me well though because I was up with a sick little girl a lot last night and had some time to think.

Things have been a little…tense… between my husband and I.  I’ve been short with him, easily irritated and annoyed.  Last week I found myself wondering what was up with that. 

When I thought about it,  I realized that it came from something that I had asked him to take care of.  It’s not a big thing but it is important.  I’ve been waiting for a few months and this week I finally saw that the reason things have been tense. It’s because I am angry.  It’s something we agreed we needed to do months ago and I got more and more ticked with each passing week it didn’t happen.

My husband is a take action guy.  He gets things done.  He does a lot to keep the house and car running.  He helps with the kids and the cleaning.  It’s not like he regularly shirks responsibilities.  I’m sure there are plenty of things he’d like to see get done in my domain that frustrate the heck out of him too.

In reality this little task was not a big deal but I had let it become a sticking point for our relationship and family.  We argued about it.  I pouted over it.

Last night, God opened my eyes to the craziness of my attitude.  We have been through a lot in our marriage.  We have forgiven each other for lots and lots of things of way more consequence than this.  But I was letting it rule our marriage.

I had a choice to rise above my feelings or to continue to go down the destructive path I was going.  One of the many things we have learned in the past year and a half is that we need to clean the slate regularly and not let old stuff go unsolved and turn into resentment.  So I apologized for being such a jerk about this little insignificant thing.  I admitted I was causing me to be angry and distant.

He accepted my apology and we came to an agreement about how to rectify the situation, which was taken care of this morning. 

Why would I want to let anything come in the way of my relationship with my husband?  There are some things going on right now that are difficult for us.  Instead of being there for him, encouraging him and inspiring him, I was distancing myself.  Sometimes it is easier for me to deal with difficulty by myself but that is not how God wants it to be in marriage.  Maybe that’s a lesson He had for me in getting married.

In all this inspire and rise above talk of the past few days, I almost missed the opportunity to do that for the most important person in my life.  I’m glad that God gave me a wake-up call.  Even if the matter had not been settled to my liking, I was ready to let it go and give it up.  Because through Christ, I can rise above the pettiness, the daily struggles, the big disappointments. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I can rise above.

And I’m not drinking caffeine today, so I don’t think there will be a part 4.  You’re welcome.

Rising Above, Part 2

I just can’t stop!  I was laying in bed last night thinking more about what I wrote and thought, “That’s it, there will have to be a part two.”  I have issues.

Yesterday, my running partner and I ran a 10k.  It was our first one ever but it’s really just part of the training for the half.  Her foot has been bothering her.  It had gotten worse all week.  It’s possible she should not have run yesterday.  We struggled through the first few miles then we decided I should just go on ahead.

I got to mile three and wondered why I was doing this.  It was not fun.  It was getting hot.  My legs hurt.  It’s also no fun to have no one to talk to so I started talking to random people along the way.  When we got to the end I had been on the tail of two women for about a mile. 

As I got closer I said to them, “I’ve been following you for a while, don’t let me beat you at the end.  You look good!”  It gave us a little chuckle and the energy to push through to the finish. 

My friend Heather came in a ways behind me, one of the last ones.  She had started talking to another woman that was struggling to finish, just coming off an injury.  She encouraged her to finish.  She said, “We can either walk this in 30 minutes or run it in 15.”  So they ran it together, foot throbbing all the way.

After they crossed the finish line, the lady came up to her and said, “Thank you so much!”

In any situation in life, we can rise above. Even my tired and hurt friend was able to rise above and be an encouragement. 

Not only in life as a mom, but in all of life, I want to choose to rise above.  I don’t want to be a downer, complainer who only sees the negative.  I want to inspire and encourage.  With my kids and everyone else I come into contact with.  Friends, strangers, or random people struggling through a 10k.

We can rise above through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The best thing is that when we do we magnify Christ.  We give Him glory for all he is doing in our life.  I can’t be inspiring on my own because I struggle with being tired and frustrated and angry.

But Christ in me, I can rise above bringing Him glory.  When you see another struggling mom, encourage and help.  When someone at church is in a tough situation, pray and help.  When the situation seems hopeless, share hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  Romans 12:13-16

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.  2 Corinthians 13:11

Life is much more joyful for me when I choose to rise above and encourage rather than let my circumstances sideline me.  I just need to look to God to do that work in me more often.

Rising Above

There are some days when being a mom is a glorious, fabulous, wonderful experience. A few weeks ago Annie had the day off from Kindergarten, but everyone else had school. I took her and Maren out on the town. We met some friends from ECFE at the Aquarium and then went to McDonald’s.

It was one of those days that was gold. No time pressures, no temper tantrums, no stress. My friends I’m sure had fun too, but they have little kids. They were pushing strollers, changing diapers, and chasing toddlers while I was sitting on a bench watching. I may have helped hold or feed a baby.

While we were the worst place on earth, the McD’s playground, I noticed a lot of other parents that were cranky and uninterested in their kids. They were not having fun. Neither were their kids.

I remember going to the aquarium as my first outing alone with all five kids. Five kids eight and under, double stroller, two in diapers and one nursing. I was exhausted and my body wasn’t fully recovered. It was scary and overwhelming trying to swing that one. If I had to go the bathroom everyone had to come in the handicap stall with me. I’m sure it was not a glorious day in many ways.

The cold, hard truth is that some days are great and full of joy. Some days are stressful and full of battles and drudgery. Some days you are up to your eye balls in spit up and diapers. Some days you enjoy a sunny day at the park. Most days there is more stinky laundry than an average NFL team could produce. But one thing I know is that the the days, good or bad go fast. Lightning fast.

I’m not sure how I went from the mom with all the little kids to the one sitting on the bench in the blink of an eye, but I did. And do you know what? I don’t want to let the messes and fighting and stress make me into a crabby and uninterested mom. I want nothing more than to be my best for them. Every day. Because you don’t get those days back.

Even though I have memories of being overwhelmed many times, especially when they were all little, those memories are also priceless. They were young and sweet and innocent and I’ll never get them back at that stage again. So I have to rise above my feelings and circumstances every day. Because once those days are over, they are gone for good.

On the days when I am crabby or wake up feeling like I want to throw in the towel, I can choose to rise above that. I know I want to do better for my kids. I can’t do it on my own because I’m crabby and tired a lot. And it makes me crabbier to know that I’m failing.

When I look at my kids, I know they need me. No, they need better than me. They need the love of Jesus Christ, through me.

That’s where it is imperative to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God in us and through that he can give us the power to do things we could not do in our own humanness. And that’s a good thing because I cannot be very patient and thankful when someone starts puking at 3:00 a.m.

This is God’s promise to us.

“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

Here are some of the things the Spirit can produce in us.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Those are qualities I cannot achieve myself, they only come through Him. So let me encourage you on this Mother’s Day when we get all flowery and philosophical about motherhood, to find the courage to rise above through the power of the Holy Spirit.

There is great fruit to be gleaned by your children through that. For those with all their mothering days before them, pray for those things in your life. For those of us who feel like we’ve blown it a lot, there is forgiveness and pruning. If we trust in Him and not ourselves we can bring sweetness to our lives as moms.

I feel fortunate that in my life I have had the privilege of having many women encourage me to enjoy the years I have with my kids. So, from the mom on the bench, be encouraged to rise above the feelings of the day and mother to the fullest with the Spirit’s help.

Like it or not, you will become the Mom on the bench before you know it.

Happy Mother’s Day!