Well, this last week has gone a touch better than the week before. To start, I banished the words “I’m bored” from our vocabulary! Anyone who dares utter these words quickly learns what being bored is really like (in the form of sitting in a dark room with nothing to do). Okay, not really but you know what I am getting at! We also planned a vacation for the end of the month! Having something to look forward to (and of course, make useless threats against) works wonders for the attitudes in the house; mine included! There is just the perfect amount of fear that I REALLY will make them sit through a guided tour about the history of the White House Rose Garden to keep it interesting!
So, sunburns and rainy days aside, the bumps of the first days of summer seem to be smoothing out. Just don’t get me started on how much food these teen/pre-teen humans consume. It’s never ending!
My oldest started his first REAL job today. I can’t help but feel like things are on fast forward with him. I find myself making a mental list of the things that feel like they are sneaking up on me. He only starts high school in the fall, but I can’t stop thinking about senior pictures and open houses. My husband drove him to work this morning but I keep thinking about cars and college, texting and driving, and making sure he knows he doesn’t have to grow up too fast; that he doesn’t have to pack away childhood just yet.
I used to think that babies and lack of sleep were the most challenging parts of parenting. I cannot tell you how wrong I was! It makes me nervous about what comes next, and if I’ll be saying these years were easy compared to high school, or college, or adulthood. So, in the midst of the craziness of summer and me complaining about hovering kids, I am in fact also feeling like I need to freeze time, stop the the growing, and keep these little monsters as close to me as possible. I am certifiably, hysterically, double-mindedly CRAZY! Oh, well they have to love me; I’m the mom, right?!
Confusion. Frustration. Joy. Love. Growing. Contentment. These seasons in life make me grateful for a God who sees me and loves me in spite of the way I feel. I am who I am, and you are who you are because of the grace He extends at our strongest moments and in our weakest disasters. He is greater than our fears. He is bigger than our joy. He is more abundant than our worries.
I am going to choose happy this week because even when the world around me is full of the unknown and keeps me guessing from day to day; HE IS GREATER. He gives me rest and keeps me sane in the ever changing world of summer breaks, first jobs, and the never ending chaos of parenting.
Oh, and does anyone know how to schedule a tour of the White House Rose Garden?!!!
Consider the Birds... 