Life

This morning as I was preparing a delicious and un-burnt breakfast, my children, who had gotten up with a smile, bathed and gotten themselves dressed, made their beds and quickly straightened their rooms, which were already clean from the night before, were politely reading on the couch while they patiently waited for breakfast... Oh wait!  That's not how it went.  Insert the opposite.  Yep, that's more like our usual routine.

I spent the night trying to endure a mini-toddler who took a very late afternoon nap.  We had fun until about 1 am.  I tell you, it was a blast.  Then that same baby who's no longer a baby had a little too much fun in the crib this morning while I was sleeping peacefully (for once) in my bed.  My kids' usual routine is to frighten me awake by staring deeply into my closed eyes about two inches from my face.  But this time, they left me peacefully sleeping, blissfully unaware.  I'll spare you the details of the morning, but they involve a crib, a diaper and a complete scrubbing down of everything and everyone within reach.  Including myself by the end.

But luckily, I've mastered the art of getting ready in ten minutes flat.  Ask any of my sisters and they'll tell you what a feat that is.  But I can't take all of the credit.  The main bulk of it goes to my children.  When you say you'll only be five minutes in the shower and someone sets the timer for you and then keeps you updated on the countdown in 30 second intervals, you get the job done quickly.

Sure, it would be nice to take a long, hot shower.  Or read a good book for hours.  Or have ten minutes to type up a blog post.  Ahem...  Or type without someone sitting on your lap.  But I'm afraid this just isn't the stuff of parenting.

I once read something that said basically: You know you're a parent if you've ever gone to the bathroom with a child sitting on your lap.  Yep.

My favorite was the day, during our bathroom renovations in which we had no doorknob, that I accidentally sent this voice text to Jeff:

TSometimes it se 7that yhou're missing out - that 5f88 idf uuo're not 8ge8ttig gym tnimme mamn nd re7j6ah dr ??

Okay- Addie is back on the floor.

Sometimes I get it in my head that chaos and some, uh, disagreement, equal failure in parenting.  But I'm afraid that this is just life.  Despite the sleep deprivation, constant reminding, constant fight-breaking-up, and general lack of privacy, there is a lot of happiness to be had in moments.  I once heard the saying that a goal unwritten is only a wish.  Family life is like that.  Happiness unrecognized can be overlooked.  But on the flip side, those painfully difficult moments also pass and the frustration often leaves with them.  What is left is the knowledge that we did something hard and we DID it!  We endured, and that is satisfying.  We loved each other despite the ugly moments and we forgave each other our shortcomings in the end.

As I was looking through the countless impromptu photos and videos on my phone, I stumbled across this masterpiece that seems to sum up the insanity perfectly.

You're welcome.