Does anyone else have people who think you should be at their beck and call 24/7? Someone who absolutly freaks out if you dont call them right back or you cant make it on an outing? This is not about our children or our husbands who seem to need us constantly...that is a ministry. This is about those high matiance people in your life who are more clingy than a weening baby. Michelle, this is not about you...if you even hint that it might be I will never speak to you again!! ;) Love ya girl!
I have always had these people in my life. When I was single, first married and NOW with five kids. I cant be everywhere at once and if I have to choose between my husband and my children and a friend then I will ALWAYS choose my husband and children, just as I would expect any of my friends to do! So, in honor of all those people out there who think that I make this job (wife and homeschooling mommy to five) look easy and I must have GADS of personal time on my hands, I present:
MY DAY
(or some semblence of it)
This morning for instance I got up and stumbled into the kitchen. Which due to a ornery dishwasher which only works 1 day out of a gazillion was piled with dishes. I had to sweep my arm across the stove to make room for the POT to boil the water for oatmeal. Once the water was on to boil, I scrounged for some bowls and began to add oatmeal, honey, salt, and vanilla to the bowls. Then I began the process called, getting the children up! This is fairly easy...most of the time. Although right now I am potty training my almost four year old son, so it has not been easy for a long time. He strips in the bathroom, which all the girls are trying to cram into for teeth and hair time. He sits on his potty and sings around the howls of injustice when the favorite hairbow is snatched up. By the time I can reach an arm in and rescue him the potty is full and some unsuspecting girl has stepped on his pee soaked clothes. Then the 9 year old proceeds to dump the potty while she is surronded by two girls, a flailing three year old and one arm from mom pulling the three year old out of the chaos. She then dumps the potty contents all over a sister. FUN! FUN! Makes me wish I had grown up with more than just a brother. Amidst screams of distress and outrage and not a little laughter from everywhere else, mom's scratchy morning voice rises and directs cleanup. I then proceed to the boy's room to get him some clothes. As he dresses I move his laundry basket and sheets to the garage where hopefully they will be washed today. Fingers crossed. Then I come out and by now there is just enough water left in the pot of boiling water to pour into the bowls. Hence the reason I use a big pot of water to start with! See experience is the key to knowledge, file it away my other Titus 2 mothers, file it away!
After breakfast we clean up the dishes and mess from breakfast. Normally if the dishwasher is working we rinse our dishes and then load them up, believe me by lunch time we have to run the dishwasher. This is a very busy time as I have four children helping me and sometimes the baby is crawling under foot.
Then Adrian and Tamara pick a box of toys to play with and I put Jonathan in baby jail and we begin school. One of the girls works on a worksheet (spelling or handwriting or leftover math from the day before) and the other works with me. While I patiently explain to my third grader once again that there is no way 10x24 can equal 954, my 1st grader invents her own style of handwriting. My 3 and 5 year olds have decided its WWF smackdown time over a block and the baby is holding on to the side of baby jail and rocking so hard that the thing is lifting off the ground. And then..... the phone rings. Now, I admit most of the time I check the caller ID. If Im expecting a call or if its mom or hubby then I will most of the time answer. During this time of chaos and confusion that is my life I wont answer the phone for any one else. Leave a message chances are, I will call you back in a week or two. Now if you REALLY REALLY want to get in touch with me...shoot me an email. With an email I can answer any time day or night. I can answer an email while feeding the baby, checking a math paper, or circling o's that are supposed to be w's on a handwritting paper. Now, admittedly I could probably answer the phone and talk to you during those time periods, BUT it might not be coherently. I love getting email though. Its like little letters on my computer. I love to answer email. Please, always email me before you call unless you want to leave a message and then I will try to call you back. NO PROMISES. My best friends are the ones who know that I love them despite unreturned phone calls.
Now let me mention again that I am potty training a very reluctant boy. I have to remember to send him to the potty every now and then, because he wont take the inititiave and go on his own.
Now onto lunch time. This is usually a quick ordeal of PB graham crackers or cheese and fruit. Afterwards, for some reason its time to run the dishwasher so we do that.
Then we do preschool, house chores, Latin, Bible, rest time, dinner...by about 10pm I can listen to answering machine messages. I could bore you with how my afternoon goes bit by bit, but I choose not to. If you look closely at the afternoon list though you will see there cant possibly be any free time in there. There isnt. There are diapers to change, pee pee clothes to wash, children to teach, books to read, cars to roll around the floor, blocks to build tall buildings with.
In the evenings we spend time as a family doing either history or science and then we read the Bible and pray and then the littles are off to bed.
Im doing the best I can to be a good friend to those around me. I look at my full plate and I know in the next few months with a major career change in store for hubby and starting a new church its going to get a bit more full. I will still maintain my friendships and look for new ones, but truly I dont have a lot of spare time. I have to focus first on the priorities my husband has set, home and children being at the top of his list followed by this new church.
So for those of you out there hurt because your friends are not always at your beck and call...look around your home and at your children. If you spend all your time worrying about your friendships, I promise there will be something in your life that is suffering.
Be Blessed!
Thanks for the gentle and sweet way you are to a friend that is too sensitive sometimes and very selfish (glad God can still work on me.) You are a true friend and I am very blessed to have had you stick by me for so long. (At least you don't have to pay for two reunions this year. ;)) I have been awed at watching you grow in so many ways in our life. Thank you for sharing your day. You do make it look easy even with the uh..."fun" days like today.
ReplyDeleteSee ya,
MM