Keeping My Hair

vi.sualize.us

It is 5:30(ish) Friday evening. Tomorrow we will get into the van and drive 2 hrs to my in-laws. It will be our first Christmas celebration of the season. In about 16 hrs we will be peddling down the road. I should be panicked, the gifts we are bringing aren't wrapped, the clothes aren't packed and I am not even sure what the kids will be wearing. The dog should get brushed so she doesn't shed so much at someone else's house, and oh goodness the house. How this little house can go from clean to NOT in 1.5 hrs is amazing to me. I wish I had one of those time warp cameras.... no, maybe I don't.

But, instead of freaking out and acting a fool, I am writing a blog. I have learned that it will come together - I will pull it together in the end. It helps that there is no longer two porta-cribs to pack (yes that is how close together we had our kids), diapers and formula are a distant memory, and the main thing we have to make sure is that noone forgot to pack underwear for the next day and a toothbrush (and paste) and if that happens - oh well...

These two things combined have been a great help during this busy holiday season. (to review -1- me less panicky -2- kids easier to pack for and to tote along, maybe #2 brings on #1) Maybe, just maybe, I will come back with just about as much hair as I left with.

I Broke The Rules

This summer I broke my own rules.

::We didn't get up at an particular time.
::We weren't dressed by 9 a.m.
::We didn't make our beds daily.
::We didn't clean up the breakfast or lunch dishes right away.
::We maybe kept the t.v. on longer then necessary
(hey, it was a cold miserable summer)
::Lunch and snack time occasionally melded together.
::I did not plan educational outings.
::We did not have scheduled reading times.
::I let my oldest skip a few practices.
::The order in the house was less then perfect
ok, most often the house was a mess!
::The lawn was not mowed every Thursday at 9 am.
::I missed garbage day a few times.
::I still haven't washed the kitchen floor.
::Bath times were a lot more hit or miss.
::Our outings out of the house became fewer and fewer.
::I let the phone go to voice mail and emails go unanswered.

feeling the spray of a waterfall on my face

Although I could keep going, I think you see my point. I let things go, I brushed off responsibilities, you could (almost) say we were lazy. This was done with good intent though.

::First off I needed it. Me, the mom. I have spent 8 years (since our second child was born 3lbs+) going going going. There were days where I didn't even have a chance to sit down, not even to eat (well maybe to go to the bathroom- but then I entertained an audience).

::Secondly, I have a very keen understanding of how fleeting these days are. I am not foolish enough to think that these days will last. I can see it coming. I see it in my oldest already. The days of lazy summers won't last forever.

::Third, we could do it. This summer was the perfect opportunity to "let kids be kids". Our "to do" list was rather small for the first time, and set plans were at a minimum. For the first summer in many summer every weekend wasn't consumed with "have to dos".

So, this summer - we didn't. We didn't do. We didn't stress. We didn't rush. We didn't worry. We let things slide. I have no regret what so ever, and while my socks now stick to the kitchen floor as I walk across it, I know that soon enough (days actually) we will be thrown back into a schedule and we will "have to do" this that and so many other things. Therefore these last few days of summer again are going to be full of nothingness. (Because this too shall pass)