Some Days We Thrive, Some Days We Just Survive

Today was A. Day.

Today I only survived.

Let me explain.

My two older kids got to have a sleepover with their cousins last night at grandma and grandpa’s house. They stayed up until 11pm. ELEVEN PM you guys. My kids go to bed at 7:30-8:00.

Needless to say, the first hour after they were back home consisted of the 3yo crying on my lap in the fetal position. For an HOUR. While the baby fussed because it’s HER lap, and the 6yo stomped around I’m sure because no one was paying attention to her.

So my plans of getting packed for our upcoming trip and an afternoon at the pool were scrapped.

Plan B: get out of the house IMMEDIATELY. I threw some snacks and sunscreen in the diaper bag and away we went. I didn’t actually have a plan other than muttering a prayer to God to help me get through this day.

We drove to town where daddy works and popped in to see him for a minute. That helped. Then I decided since it was nice outside that we would go check out the big beautiful fountain in town. It’s old and amazing, but new to my kids. Huge win. Water, sun, did I mention water? The big kids could have played all day, and were getting pretty wet, so we walked over to the park, played for a bit, and then grabbed some roast beef sandwiches on the way home.

The baby fell asleep, and it wasn’t quite the big kids’ nap times yet, so we stopped in our town and had an ice cream cone, sitting outside in the sunshine. Finally, we made the last few miles to home and mostly hit a SUCCESS—naptime. The older kids were asleep as soon as I was done reading their books to them. I say “mostly” success because since the baby napped in the car, her nap time was shot.

But…

If you are a mom, you know where I’m going with this. The ONLY time during my ENTIRE day that I can attempt to squeeze in the 4,547 things on my to-do list is DURING NAPTIME! Which meant that today I got exactly zero things done. And some days that is ok. But today I had suitcases to pack and food to make for the upcoming 4th of July trip.

So I played and rocked and read and tried to get the baby to rest. No luck. I spent the majority of the day being angry. Honestly I really really dislike the feeling of being so unproductive.

During the day, I had posted pictures of the kids at the fountain, saying I brought them there because everyone was crabby. A friend commented, and because she is a mom too, I know she totally understood my tactics, but she said “you are a good mamma.” I said, “Haha, I don’t know about that, I’m just trying to save my sanity.”

You guys—some days we thrive, and some days we just survive. And that is ok!!

The point of my rambling story is that sometimes you just do what you need to do to get through the day with everyone’s hearts in one piece. The day was headed towards disaster, but with a few distractions and a little extra TLC in the form of ice cream, plus a well-timed nap, we all came out alive. And that equals winning in my book.

There’s Always a Lesson

But do you know what else I learned tonight as I sat and nursed and rocked the baby to sleep? That God really did hear my prayers—because I often pray for Him to change my circumstances, and if he can’t do that, to change my heart towards my circumstances.

As I watched my baby drift to sleep, I could hear God saying, “nothing else matters.”

And really—does it?!? Psalm 127:3-5 says “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man who quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.”

My suitcase is still there waiting to be packed. I still have no idea what food to plan, cook, and take with me this week. My house is a wreck as usual.

But hopefully my kids felt loved and knew that I was present. And maybe I just survived, or maybe we thrived. Depends on your perspective.