a day in the life...

a recap of my day?

well, there are 2 perspectives.

the first one starts like this:

and ends with this:

the other...

is filled with things like this:

it is an obvious statement that although i'd rather not have laundry and dishes and constant clutter from glitter, crafts, train sets and legos, its all worth it because i have 3 precious children that i love more than words can express.

i mean, i know i complain a lot. i refer to this as mommy honesty. the purpose is two-fold. first, its an outlet for frustration. if i let it out, it doesn't overwhelm me. as much. and second, i believe transparency among moms contributes to the greater good in society. for instance, when i meet moms who are all contented sighs and smiles and like, "oh, this is the absolute best stage of my life and i love every minute of it." i'm thinking... you are such a liar. or. you are on some serious drugs. and i want some.

yeah, overall we all feel that way, that this is the best stage of our life. but also, we have our moments. and sharing them allows others to feel normal.

the day to day of life can begin to feel overwhelming and mundane. i can focus too easily on the lack of sleep instead of the laughter of my kids. or the piles of dishes and not the abundance with which we have been blessed. or the crayons on our wall and not the creativity of these little ones. the toys and games and miscellaneous whatevers everywhere and not the fun of childhood. or the lack of a waistline and the gray hairs and not the joy of seeing my 2 oldest children interact as best friends and the complete delight in their baby brother. it really is great to have my children so close together, even if my jeans tell me otherwise.

i recently read on a mommy's blog (sorry, i don't remember where and what random clicking enabled me to find her otherwise i'd gladly give credit where credit is due) about being so caught up in complaining about the laundry and dishes that we don't notice the little ones responsible for all these extra "chores" are listening with very attentive ears.

as much as i don't want it to, my perspective on the day to day affects my children greatly. i can re-cap our day with tedium and monotony, or i can re-cap it with joy and longing for tomorrow.

while there are constants in life, like messy floors and dirty clothes and sleepless nights, i don't want that to define us. i want my kids to thrive. i want each day to be full of promise for them.

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." ~Anaïs Nin