Life is Pretty Daily
Warning: This is for way too long for anyone else to read. It's mostly for me to remember to have some perspective in life! A day in the life of the Davis family in 2013.
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It's funny how life is pretty daily. You know, mundane. Full of busy-ness but nothing productive. A series of frustrations sometimes. Punctuated by little perfect moments that I hope make up for the 23 hours and 59 minutes of not-so-perfect moments each day.
Yesterday was a great day. We had a great family dinner with a half hour discussion on what were our greatest fears. Everyone was involved and we sat and ate a beautiful dinner on the table set with a tablecloth and even our best China (Jeff's Christmas present to me a few years back. 16 place settings for $34.99. It's actually beautiful. You'd never know it was a clearance deal from Walmart. I love it!) We ate by candlelight and I don't even think anyone spilled a significant amount of anything. Miracle! The kids even cleared the table and kind of did the dishes. (I helped. A lot. But at least they helped too!)
After dinner I read with Mikey before bed. He was adorable. He is getting good at reading and his little voice is so precious. I really need to record it so I can listen to it when he's older. It is my favorite sound in the whole world right now. Especially his voice as he is learning to read. It's so pure and sweet. As I kissed him goodnight and he sleepily told me "I love you to pieces Mom" and I watched him fall asleep I thought, "I wish he could stay 5 forever."
Today was a different story. I overslept. Only by a few minutes but I did not want to get out of bed at all. I hate waking up feeling like I can't wait to climb back in bed but realizing I have a long, crazy day ahead of me. I had to do Mikey's whole week's worth of homework with him before he went to school because we had been slackers all last week. Isaac refused to brush his teeth. Threw a fit about getting dressed. It's just above 0 degrees today and has been for the last week. The high was 15 today. (Just to set the stage. Doesn't everything feel harder when it's 0 degrees outside?) I had a busy morning doing my Visiting Teaching (I love my sisters I visit), studying Spanish, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. I picked up Mikey and went straight to a Visiting Teaching luncheon. It was wonderful but I overate (feeling guilty). Then I was late picking up carpool and the kids were nowhere to be found. I finally found them walking home in the snow. Calvin and Meredith (6th grade) were taking turns carrying Carly (1st grade) because her little boots kept falling off in the deep snow. (I was proud of Calvin for helping). The kids were freezing. I felt so bad! Then I folded 6 loads of laundry only to come downstairs and find that the kids had made themselves snacks, left food and a mess out and were busy playing games on the computer, tracked slushy snow all over the mudroom and left their shoes/coats/backpacks strewn across the floor. I was frustrated.
We scrambled to get dressed for futsal (Kate and Calvin had games) and barely made it in time for Kate's game because we couldn't find Kate's blue jersey despite the fact that I had just washed practically every item of clothing she owns!
Between games we ran up to the Ridley's grocery store on 1600 S. in Orem to get some snacks (the kids were "STARVING!") and a bag of birdseed to make these cute birdseed wreaths I'd seen on pinterest for grandparents' Christmas gifts. While we were a spectacle in the store and waiting in line to checkout, the checker was making comments about the kids being naughty and Santa not coming. She mentioned to the boys to be careful because they kept bumping into this nice elderly man behind us. I apologized to the kind man waiting patiently behind my crazy bunch. He was so nice. He told me "Don't worry! They are just boys being boys. And you are an awesome Mom!" He was so sincere. It almost made me cry. It really did buoy my spirits since I was starting to feel tired and overwhelmed from the day.
Mikey has cried probably 50% of the day today. I truly do not think that is an exaggeration. It has been whining, clinging, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth all day for that kid. By 5:00 I was ready to put him to bed—the minute we walked in the door from futsal! But of course I didn't. When I walked in the door, I found Isaac (7 years old) watching the Hobbit (PG-13). I immediately turned it off and he was furious because "Dad said I could watch it!!!!" I don't know what Jeff was thinking but he wasn't home so I couldn't ask.
By the way, Jeff is probably the most helpful husband in the world. Even his mother-in-law agrees. And the truth is, I'm not very good without him. He and I are a great team but when I'm home alone and things don't go well, I get frustrated. I'm probably just too spoiled having him around so much. Tonight he is at the Utah Jazz game. A friend called this afternoon and invited him to go to tonight's game. It was a whole package with the pre-game steak dinner at the Energy Solutions Arena and FRONT ROW tickets to the game. Like down-on-the-court-no-one-in-front-of-you-front-row seats. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I told him he had to go!! He was so excited!
Isaac refused to talk to me for a good 30 minutes. Meanwhile I quickly made a pathetic quesadilla dinner. No veggies or fruit. Half the kids didn't clear their dishes off the table. The kitchen was a mess. I was picking up the crust of someone's toast that had been left in my bedroom when Kate screamed from the kitchen for help. I came running and found that she had tried to pour some hot chocolate for herself out of the cocomotion pitcher and spilled over 4 cups of hot chocolate all over the counter, cabinets and floor, splattering everything within a 6 foot radius. I had made a pitcher for our FHE treat for the kids. I seriously wanted to cry over spilt hot chocolate. Instead I got angry. I probably should have cried instead. She really felt bad. We cleaned it up and I slowly calmed down but I made her feel really bad while I complained about how I was tired of being the maid.
I tried to do Family Home Evening. It started off well. I hadn't prepared a lesson so I decided we would do a Christmas sing. It actually ended up being kind of fun. I plunked out their favorite songs on the piano (right hand only on most) and we sang for almost an hour. The two little boys got bored after 20 minutes and just wrestled and giggled and fought the rest of the time. I tried not to be frustrated. At least they were still in the same room with us, right?
I finally got the kids in bed reading, and went to pick up Kira from a concert she had to attend for her choir class. Mikey and Kira teased and fought the whole way home. I actually had to tell Kira to stop talking like a baby. She's 13. I was probably just done for the day. (For the record, Kira is an amazing help to me! She is always looking for ways to help out and I really appreciate that. She was home doing her homework and babysitting Isaac while I was gone all afternoon).
The kids are upstairs talking and giggling when they should be asleep. It's an hour past their bedtime. I did say prayers and hug and kiss each one of my children and told them I loved them and I was sorry for being a little crabby tonight. I hope they still love me and forgive me. I sometimes think I'm a failure when things aren't picture perfect but the truth is, the spilled hot chocolate, the craziness at the grocery store, the crust on the end table and the milk jug left on the counter are really just part of raising a family. They're just kids trying to figure this whole thing out and I'm just a mom trying to figure this whole thing out too! They don't think our family is "less than" if the house isn't clean or if they are giggling during the prayer or don't hang up their backpack after school. I need to relax and enjoy all of the parts of family life, not just the perfect moments. Otherwise I will be end up being unhappy and frustrated most of the time. Just to be clear and for the record, I am definitely not a perfectionist about a clean house or perfectly behaved or tidy children. But I do like to have a decently picked up house and kids who get along with each other and try to be responsible. I tend to get frustrated when these things are grossly ignored or violated. Like when they leave a trail of belongings from one end of the house to the other, you know, things like that start to bother me every now and then.
I love my kids and their little flaws along with their talents and strengths. They are wonderful little people teaching me everyday how to be a better person. I want to be better at showing them each day how much I love them and help build them up rather than making them feel "less than" by getting upset and complaining at them. I really am so grateful to be their mother. It truly is a privilege!
But here's hoping someday they will learn to close a door, flush a toilet and put the milk away, right?
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It's funny how life is pretty daily. You know, mundane. Full of busy-ness but nothing productive. A series of frustrations sometimes. Punctuated by little perfect moments that I hope make up for the 23 hours and 59 minutes of not-so-perfect moments each day.
Yesterday was a great day. We had a great family dinner with a half hour discussion on what were our greatest fears. Everyone was involved and we sat and ate a beautiful dinner on the table set with a tablecloth and even our best China (Jeff's Christmas present to me a few years back. 16 place settings for $34.99. It's actually beautiful. You'd never know it was a clearance deal from Walmart. I love it!) We ate by candlelight and I don't even think anyone spilled a significant amount of anything. Miracle! The kids even cleared the table and kind of did the dishes. (I helped. A lot. But at least they helped too!)
After dinner I read with Mikey before bed. He was adorable. He is getting good at reading and his little voice is so precious. I really need to record it so I can listen to it when he's older. It is my favorite sound in the whole world right now. Especially his voice as he is learning to read. It's so pure and sweet. As I kissed him goodnight and he sleepily told me "I love you to pieces Mom" and I watched him fall asleep I thought, "I wish he could stay 5 forever."
Today was a different story. I overslept. Only by a few minutes but I did not want to get out of bed at all. I hate waking up feeling like I can't wait to climb back in bed but realizing I have a long, crazy day ahead of me. I had to do Mikey's whole week's worth of homework with him before he went to school because we had been slackers all last week. Isaac refused to brush his teeth. Threw a fit about getting dressed. It's just above 0 degrees today and has been for the last week. The high was 15 today. (Just to set the stage. Doesn't everything feel harder when it's 0 degrees outside?) I had a busy morning doing my Visiting Teaching (I love my sisters I visit), studying Spanish, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. I picked up Mikey and went straight to a Visiting Teaching luncheon. It was wonderful but I overate (feeling guilty). Then I was late picking up carpool and the kids were nowhere to be found. I finally found them walking home in the snow. Calvin and Meredith (6th grade) were taking turns carrying Carly (1st grade) because her little boots kept falling off in the deep snow. (I was proud of Calvin for helping). The kids were freezing. I felt so bad! Then I folded 6 loads of laundry only to come downstairs and find that the kids had made themselves snacks, left food and a mess out and were busy playing games on the computer, tracked slushy snow all over the mudroom and left their shoes/coats/backpacks strewn across the floor. I was frustrated.
We scrambled to get dressed for futsal (Kate and Calvin had games) and barely made it in time for Kate's game because we couldn't find Kate's blue jersey despite the fact that I had just washed practically every item of clothing she owns!
Between games we ran up to the Ridley's grocery store on 1600 S. in Orem to get some snacks (the kids were "STARVING!") and a bag of birdseed to make these cute birdseed wreaths I'd seen on pinterest for grandparents' Christmas gifts. While we were a spectacle in the store and waiting in line to checkout, the checker was making comments about the kids being naughty and Santa not coming. She mentioned to the boys to be careful because they kept bumping into this nice elderly man behind us. I apologized to the kind man waiting patiently behind my crazy bunch. He was so nice. He told me "Don't worry! They are just boys being boys. And you are an awesome Mom!" He was so sincere. It almost made me cry. It really did buoy my spirits since I was starting to feel tired and overwhelmed from the day.
Mikey has cried probably 50% of the day today. I truly do not think that is an exaggeration. It has been whining, clinging, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth all day for that kid. By 5:00 I was ready to put him to bed—the minute we walked in the door from futsal! But of course I didn't. When I walked in the door, I found Isaac (7 years old) watching the Hobbit (PG-13). I immediately turned it off and he was furious because "Dad said I could watch it!!!!" I don't know what Jeff was thinking but he wasn't home so I couldn't ask.
By the way, Jeff is probably the most helpful husband in the world. Even his mother-in-law agrees. And the truth is, I'm not very good without him. He and I are a great team but when I'm home alone and things don't go well, I get frustrated. I'm probably just too spoiled having him around so much. Tonight he is at the Utah Jazz game. A friend called this afternoon and invited him to go to tonight's game. It was a whole package with the pre-game steak dinner at the Energy Solutions Arena and FRONT ROW tickets to the game. Like down-on-the-court-no-one-in-front-of-you-front-row seats. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I told him he had to go!! He was so excited!
Isaac refused to talk to me for a good 30 minutes. Meanwhile I quickly made a pathetic quesadilla dinner. No veggies or fruit. Half the kids didn't clear their dishes off the table. The kitchen was a mess. I was picking up the crust of someone's toast that had been left in my bedroom when Kate screamed from the kitchen for help. I came running and found that she had tried to pour some hot chocolate for herself out of the cocomotion pitcher and spilled over 4 cups of hot chocolate all over the counter, cabinets and floor, splattering everything within a 6 foot radius. I had made a pitcher for our FHE treat for the kids. I seriously wanted to cry over spilt hot chocolate. Instead I got angry. I probably should have cried instead. She really felt bad. We cleaned it up and I slowly calmed down but I made her feel really bad while I complained about how I was tired of being the maid.
I tried to do Family Home Evening. It started off well. I hadn't prepared a lesson so I decided we would do a Christmas sing. It actually ended up being kind of fun. I plunked out their favorite songs on the piano (right hand only on most) and we sang for almost an hour. The two little boys got bored after 20 minutes and just wrestled and giggled and fought the rest of the time. I tried not to be frustrated. At least they were still in the same room with us, right?
I finally got the kids in bed reading, and went to pick up Kira from a concert she had to attend for her choir class. Mikey and Kira teased and fought the whole way home. I actually had to tell Kira to stop talking like a baby. She's 13. I was probably just done for the day. (For the record, Kira is an amazing help to me! She is always looking for ways to help out and I really appreciate that. She was home doing her homework and babysitting Isaac while I was gone all afternoon).
The kids are upstairs talking and giggling when they should be asleep. It's an hour past their bedtime. I did say prayers and hug and kiss each one of my children and told them I loved them and I was sorry for being a little crabby tonight. I hope they still love me and forgive me. I sometimes think I'm a failure when things aren't picture perfect but the truth is, the spilled hot chocolate, the craziness at the grocery store, the crust on the end table and the milk jug left on the counter are really just part of raising a family. They're just kids trying to figure this whole thing out and I'm just a mom trying to figure this whole thing out too! They don't think our family is "less than" if the house isn't clean or if they are giggling during the prayer or don't hang up their backpack after school. I need to relax and enjoy all of the parts of family life, not just the perfect moments. Otherwise I will be end up being unhappy and frustrated most of the time. Just to be clear and for the record, I am definitely not a perfectionist about a clean house or perfectly behaved or tidy children. But I do like to have a decently picked up house and kids who get along with each other and try to be responsible. I tend to get frustrated when these things are grossly ignored or violated. Like when they leave a trail of belongings from one end of the house to the other, you know, things like that start to bother me every now and then.
I love my kids and their little flaws along with their talents and strengths. They are wonderful little people teaching me everyday how to be a better person. I want to be better at showing them each day how much I love them and help build them up rather than making them feel "less than" by getting upset and complaining at them. I really am so grateful to be their mother. It truly is a privilege!
But here's hoping someday they will learn to close a door, flush a toilet and put the milk away, right?
I am so right there with you!! It's good to know we aren't the only ones who LOVE being a mom but wish the kids would catch on in a few areas!!
ReplyDeleteIt is so good to know I'm not alone!
ReplyDelete