It was one of those days. You know the kind.
One of those days that the only way I could have qualified as a good 'keeper of the home' would have been if that meant I was supposed to keepa' you (and anyone else) outta' my home so they wouldn't become witness to the insane chaos and mess.
My children were annoying me. Yes, annoying. Couldn't they tell that mama had a lot to do, too much to do, and that I really just needed them to play quietly by themselves? Couldn't they stop fighting and getting into things?! "Please boys!" I pleaded.
Why, then, at that moment, did I decide to read the words of Lorrie Flem? As if softly whispering...
"Slow and steady...."
There is nothing slow about living with little boys and our life is about as steady as a teeter-totter! (I sternly and almost fiercely respond!)
"One of a mother's busiest seasons of life is when her children are young...."
Well, Amen there! Finally- she's getting it!
"I often tell mothers of young children to stay home and just try to get the basics done every day..."
Wait! I have bigger things to do than just the basics! I'm aspiring and creative- there is more to me than this motherhood gig! I'm not doing enough if I am just doing the basics!
"Enjoy your children and don't wish away these years.."
But they are so hard!!! Once my kids are just a little bit older I will like my life better...
"How do you look at taking care of your children's needs... Do you see them as interruptions?"
Well, um... yes! (I roll my eyes)
"They're not."
Wait... what? (I pause)
"They are some of the most important daily duties as a blessed mother of young children! ...We are training and shaping young lives, and in the process, we are allowing the Lord to shape ours as we yield to Him each day... We are ministering for the Lord as we minister to our family!"
(Chirp, chirp- ya know, the crickets- while I process)
"Some days, being a Godly mother is all we can accomplish- and it is a BIG accomplishment... Eventually the undone jobs will get done, but in the meantime, our children have a mother who truly loves and cares for them by spending her time with them."
Gulp.
I place the scrub brush back in the sink.
I shut the laptop and tuck it away.
I turn the phone to silent.
Then I quietly navigate my way through the mess in the play room to get to the neglected box of legos that they have been asking me to build with them for a week. I find the boys behind the couch playing with Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
"Do you guys want to build Legos with me?" I suddenly feel like a sheepish child, asking my own children to play, but in that moment their eyes begin to sparkle as they quickly dart into the living room to play with mama- one of their favorite people in the whole world to play with. Hmmmm... something to savor, 'cause it won't always be this way.
We sit and build- planes, trucks, sky scrapers- it doesn't really matter because we are together. I am there, teaching them how to share by example and squelching fights before they reach the ear-piercing levels that normally draw my attention. We enjoy each other. No distractions, just us.
My boys quickly obey when it comes time to clean up, because I work alongside them. They then pick out a few cars and follow me into the kitchen as I finish the dishes and for once don't let it get to me when they race around my legs and over the limited space on our tiny kitchen floor. Instead, I choose to enjoy their antics, listening to the funny exchanges they have between each other that I too often miss.
I realize that this is what Lorrie was talking about. Playing with Legos was the most important work I did that day and I enjoyed it. Mothering the young is life at it's simplest- living in the moment and just doing the next thing. The rest? It's just frosting.
____________________________________
Visit www.HomemakingWithTeach.com for this and many other great products published by Mrs. Lorrie Flem. You can also visit TheGabbyMoms.com for more than 50 reviews on True Treasures. Use the coupon code: GabbyMom, for $4 off your purchase of True Treasures between now and May 31, 2011. (Only one per customer please)
I received this product as the Head Mama for The Gabby Moms blogging program of Eternal Encouragement Magazine. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
All quotes from Mrs. Lorrie Flem in the article Slow and Steady, pages 16-17 of True Treasures.
Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!
