Oatmeal aside (yes please), I wanted to share a word about what I've been thinking about lately.
Parenting. It's hard and wonderful.
The daily grind is enough to curl us up into the fetal position if we don't keep the right perspective. A post I wrote a couple years ago came to mind, and I wanted to point back to it as a reminder for us all:
What Happens When a Mom Takes a Step Back
Well, honestly, sometimes when this mama takes a step back (literally), I fall over (actually). I’m just not as spry or coordinated as I used to be, and also sometimes the reason I’m falling is because I have tripped over the groceries my kids didn’t put away after I asked them twice.
Which leads me to a big point of this post.
It is rare that my kids will do exactly as I ask, immediately after I ask. I often have to say things twice or twelve times. They hardly ever come right when I call. Sometimes I say, “Put all your shoes away before you head up for the night” but then I find all the shoes exactly where they shouldn’t be in the morning. We can be sure that if I didn’t tell them to pick up their sweatshirts, all of the hoodies in the world would stay on the floor
forever.
