Some days come with dark clouds. Sometimes these clouds are literal and sometimes they are figurative. Sometimes they are both. This morning I got up to a headache and overcast skies. The kids were cranky, Jason was cranky, and I was cranky. And the dogs peed on the floor and all the toys and blankets in that spot. Not a good start to the day. I am so behind on my emails and with church stuff and I missed a meeting. I am behind on laundry, and political stuff. I was really starting to feel sorry for myself and needed perspective, but there was none to be had, or so I thought.
Only MY cloud didn’t bring any rain…
The kids wouldn’t stop fighting, Jason’s car is broke down, and money is really right. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and go back to bed. But I couldn’t because Derek let the dogs out the front door again, and I had to go get them. Life can be so unfair sometimes, you know it?
Echo is catching his breath after he escaped, the little punk.
But this afternoon, the kids went outside to play. It was actually early evening and I had just taken meat out to make spaghetti sauce for dinner. I heard the hose go on and winced. That meant in ten minutes or less, kids are going to come in looking like drowned rats, crying because someone got them wet. I was going to have to find them a whole new set of clothes for two hours. I just sighed and figured, “what the heck…it fits the day.” Poor me.
When dinner was ready, I realized no one had come in. I walked out to call them in and found that they had pulled out the Slip N’ Slide and were all four having a ball. I couldn’t help but smile. I think it was the first time all day. I walked out and just watched them for a bit. Jason called out to me and asked me to watch him do some tricks. Troy and Derek followed suit. Jason and Troy actually did some neat spins and slides. I had to laugh at poor Derek. He tried so hard to emulate his brothers, but instead, ran almost to the end of the slide and either plopped onto his tiny little butt and acted like he slid there, or he lost his footing and did some unintentional acrobatics on his way down. It was so cute. I actually laughed. Ashley was sitting at the bottom in a dress. She was soaked through and through and had apparently taken her diaper off. She was just sitting in the pooled up water, splashing around and giggling hysterically when her brothers slid into the water, dousing her entire body. ( No doubt she had just peed and they slid right into it…) They were having so much fun, their joy was contagious. By the time we all came in, got dried off and into the bath, my mood was drastically different. Dinner was able to just simmer a bit longer because it was spaghetti sauce. I could boil noodles after the bath.
The kids are playing with the Slip N’ Slide and had a blast! I wish I had a picture of Ashley or a video of Derek. They were so funny!
When we all sat down for dinner, the kids just chatted away incessantly about their time outside. I listened intently, smiling and laughing. I realized at that moment, no matter how bad things are, I am a very lucky woman. I have the best kids in the world. They are my life, my joy, my perspective, and my silver lining around those occasional dark clouds.
We are really moving up now! We are number 46 overall, and number 10 in Family Life on Top Mommy Blogs.com. Keep voting! We will get to #1 in no time! Just click on the juggling chick! Thank you!!
