I woke up this morning at 6:30. This is probably the 20th day in a row that I have woken up before my alarm. I don't know how that keeps happening. And some of those alarms were in the 4:00 a.m. hour! One in the 3:00 a.m. hour. Anyway, I climbed out of my soft, warm bed and went into the bathroom. I blinked at the bright lights and tried to wake up.
When I came out into the kitchen, I could hear the kids upstairs moving around and getting ready. Part of me, a HUGE part, wanted to get back into bed. I'm tired. And it's a tired that goes deep down into my soul. But I helped Greg drag out the trash cans, since we forgot last night, and then I put water on the stove to boil. This morning it would be Cream of Wheat (or mush, as we affectionately call it) and warm, buttered toast. For Miles, I scrambled some eggs and sprinkled them with cheese.
Once Emma, Julia, and Miles were fed, we worked on packing lunches (some mornings I'm so sick of packing lunches!) and then I helped get their backpacks ready, I grabbed last minute items Emma might need for volleyball, and I helped with everyone's hair. Finally, at 7:30, I rushed Miles into the car to take him to school, and Emma and Julia got into their car to drive to their school. Some mornings, like today, we remember to pray. But I wish it was every morning.
Then I came back and started cleaning the upstairs. As I worked, I dressed the three little boys, fed them pancakes with syrup (yes, I make multiple breakfast items in the morning!), and made all the beds. At 8:40, I got everyone into the car, collected Will and Lexie from across the street, and drove them all to the elementary school. Then it was back home to finish cleaning and get myself dressed.
My car has needed an oil change for a while now, but when I noticed some oil on the garage floor yesterday, I knew that I shouldn't wait any longer. Luckily, they could fit me in this morning. I knew it would be a good hour, since they rotate my tires, too. So I packed up the stroller, Owen's scooter and helmet, and Lance's new balance bike, and off we went.
The car dealership is right along the river trail, which is so fun to walk along. After dropping off the car, Owen and Lance and I made our way to the trail and started our adventure. Owen has gotten so good at the scooter. He proudly rode that thing a long way. We stopped to look at the river, yelled, "Echo," in the tunnels, gathered rocks and tossed them off the bridge, and picked yellow leaves off of the lovely fall-colored trees. We spotted birds and ducks, and skipped and hopped our way along. We mostly meandered, but we had a lovely walk on a fresh and glorious fall morning, in the warm sunshine. I wish I took more time for adventures with my boys. I treasured their smiles and laughter.
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| Owen! |
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| On an adventure with my boys!! |
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| Lance! |
As I breathed deeply of the fresh air and felt my spirit soar and my steps lighten, I started thinking about myself. Sometimes it's hard to point out our own good qualities, but I do think I am blessed with a heightened sense of wonder. I could never grow tired of walking along a sunshine-soaked river trail with my handsome little boys. I could never grow tired of stopping to watch the excavators digging out trenches in the construction zone below the freeway overpass and pointing out each large machine to my kids. I could never grow tired of handing rocks one by one to my toddler, and watching him carefully throw them off the bridge and into the water. I could never grow tired of feeling my legs move, and feeling my lungs breath, and letting my eyes soak up the wonder of it all. I am so grateful. I am so blessed. And I'll never grow tired of saying that.
Emma had another game tonight, and another victory. And that's another thing that I'll never grow tired of: watching my kids play. She played so great. When she jumped up and slammed a ball back over the net for a kill, the entire audience erupted. The coach was so proud of her, and so were we. She is awesome, and I love how hard she works. Her team has one more game, and they are still undefeated!
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| Emma is right there at the net, sending it over the girl on the left's fingertips. Go, Emma!! |
And now we sit here at the kitchen table. It's late, the house is quiet, everyone is in bed. Emma is working on her homework while I type. She wants me to help her, but I just can't dredge up any information from the deepest recesses of my brain to help her with graphing parabolas. I think this is Trigonometry, and it's killing me. I told Greg that my only hope is to attend math class with Emma! I've tried so hard to keep up with her and help her. But I just don't know how much longer I will be much help. It makes my brain tired to think about, but I'm also proud I've made it this far. She's so smart, she'll just have to go it alone, I guess.
The quarter just ended and Emma, Julia, and Miles all got a 4.0. I can't take much credit for Julia and Miles, but Emma and I have gutted it out many nights together. Although, I did see a headline passing around Facebook recently that claimed, "Children get their intelligence from their mother," so, yeah. I guess I will claim it. Ha ha!
Emma asked me to sit here at the kitchen table just to give her moral support. Sometimes that's what it takes--pancakes and eggs in the morning, rides to school, hugs and kisses, help and love, and tucking them into bed at night. Not every kid in the world gets that. My heart aches for those who don't. But all I can do right here, right now, is keep on doing it for the ones in my home. I'm eternally grateful for the chance.
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