Wednesday, June 27, 2007

A Day in Our Life: Yesterday


I’ve wanted to blog a day in our life (especially for grandparents), but every time I start, something goes wrong. This time I decided to blog about it even though it was an imperfect day, in many ways frustrating. This is what happened at our house yesterday!


I slipped out of bed before anyone else and proofed a paper for Billy, one that had to be done early. As a mom do you ever feel like life is moving in slow motion? I do. By the time I got breakfast on the table for the kids it was 9 o’clock. We are so fortunate that Billy usually gets to eats three meals a day with us (and breakfast at a much earlier hour), but today was an exception. I grabbed a couple pieces of toast and some tea and threw on some clothes and makeup.




Then I tidied the house, made beds, made sure the kids were clothed and in their right minds...




...and helped them make a tent. (Tent-making skills are a big plus on the mom resume, you know.)


By then it was clear that I wasn’t going to make my 10:00 goal for having the house tidy, so I gave up sat down for a 10-minute blog-surfing break. Then I got back to work.




At 11:00 we folded clothes and watched Leave it to Beaver, my favorite old show of all time…Well, along with Andy Griffith and The Beverly Hillbillies. Those are a three-way tie, I think. One I was really disappointed in was Ozzie and Harriet. Sheesh!


Can you tell I had a 4-year-old laundry helper?


12:00 was lunch time. Since Billy wasn’t eating with us today, I threw some PB&J together. I took a few minutes to take some pictures for yesterday’s blog entry before I put on another load of laundry (the never-ending beast) and cleaned some more.


At 1:00 I read to the kids before nap/quiet time. Elizabeth no longer naps, she is required to have a quiet time, mainly for the sake of my sanity. It’s nice to have 30 minutes or so when I’m not on call to relax and do something fun. However, “quiet” time was interrupted many times by little children who did not want to nap OR be quiet. I changed a diaper, scrubbed marker off the wall, and did a million bazillion other little things, while trying not to lose my composure, before everyone FINALLY settled down. By then it was 3:00. I tried to proofread a letter for Billy and blog a bit between all the craziness, but I have to say that most of my afternoon was taken up with little people.




Still, duty called…I had to do school with Elizabeth. Normally this would happen much earlier in the afternoon, but everything so far took twice as long as I expected. I’m sure we all have days like that. In fact, I was tempted to not even blog A Day In Our Life because so many things went wrong. I mean, I’d like A Day in Our Life to make me look like Superwoman. But alas, it doesn’t. Fortunately, since I have only one student and she’s in first grade, we still got all our work done. Tomorrow will be better.


By the time we finished, it was time to grab a bite to eat and get ready for church.


I was a little frazzled and didn’t get any more pictures. I wished I had my camera with me, because after church Billy took the kids to the old-fashioned ice cream parlor around the corner. Such a cool place.


After I got the kids in bed I was able to settle down for a little time of prayer and meditating on God's Word. Somehow I think if I had done this at the beginning of the day instead of the end, my day would have gone better. I put my time with God first today.

At 10:30 my brother Samuel called from the campsite where he’s staying while he fights wildfires in the North and West. It’s a good thing we weren’t asleep yet! Always so wonderful to hear from far-away family.


So that’s our exciting day! I never did get the house as tidy as I wanted it. All-in-all I was pretty frustrated. But I still got a lot done, and the essential things were accomplished eventually. How was your day?



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

WoW! Who said mom's aren't SuperWomens... You rocked yesterday!
Here's a tip... in the midst of all the craziness, I TRY to remind myself of how blessed I am to be a mom, wife, teacher and friend. ( Even when scrubbing a toilet! LOL)
Up in the air. It's a bird. It's a plane. IT'S SUPERMOM!
In Jesus,
Christina

Erica said...

I enjoyed this post! Always good to know you're not the only one whose day doesn't always go as planned. lol

I'm gradually learning that all my little plans for the day, such as laundry, cooking, and dishes are so trivial compared to a little extra time spent with my precious little one. Laundry can always wait till tomorrow, but hugs and kisses can't wait!

Charity Grace said...

Well, I didn't think anyone would make it to the end of that boring post! Thanks for the comments!

Both of you are so right about being blessed. Sometimes I get tunnel vision and all I can see are the tasks before me, especially the ones that aren't getting done. Thanks for the reminders about my sweet blessings. I probably came off as a bit complaining. I didn't intend it to sound quite that way, but maybe it was...There are many bright spots in frustrating days! :)

Anonymous said...

Charity,
There's a huge difference between complaining and venting. You, my dear, can vent ANYTIME. (It's nice to know that I am not alone.)
Thanks for sharing! ;-)
~Christina

Jen said...

While I was reading your post I was thinking about something one of my dear friends and a spiritual mother said to me, "When your day doesn't make you look or feel like a great mom, remember that those days are the days that make your God look like the great God that He is." I've had days just like yours, but I'm alwasy consoled by how vast God is and His grace and mercy carry us through! Here's to "Super Mom" days and here's to "Super God" days!

Charity Grace said...

So true! Thank you!

Hannah's Mom said...

Can I come have breakfast with you... The toast and tea pot next to the window, magical.

Charity Grace said...

Sure, Windy, you can come have breakfast with me any time! I have to admit that breakfast at our house usually doesn't look like that. Every now and then I make it pretty, especially when I'm not under a time constraint. I have to credit the ladies of the blogosphere for the inspiration. So many blogs have shown me that living graciously doesn't just have to be for another day and time, far in an idealized past! We can use pretty things now...If you come visit, I promise we'll have tea! :)