One Day at a Time

Yesterday … let’s just say … it was rough. The baby cried … all … day … long … and only slept for 20 minute snippits throughout the day (she appeared to be teething). In an apparent moment of weakness, I had arranged an afternoon playdate for the big girls, which, for me, meant the house had to be pretty much immaculate by noon (I hate having people over if my house isn’t clean). Having (or creating) an immaculate house with three kids home for the morning is pretty much impossible, but be damned if I didn’t work at it … all … morning … long. By 11:30 a.m. (after waking at 5), my efforts seemed completely futile. I still wasn’t satisfied with the state of the house (the kitchen had apparently blown up while making lunch), and I was secretly thankful when I was able to cancel the playdate at the last minute (because of my oldest daughter’s atrocious behaviour). I was in a foul mood, the baby was in a foul mood, and so was my oldest daughter. Let’s just say, it wasn’t pretty. I can honestly say that I didn’t spend any good, quality time with my kids yesterday. What … a … waste … of … a day!

Today … was good though … and it felt like a gift all day long. The baby was chill (she let strangers hold her without losing her mind and she slept … multiple times). A good chunk of our day was absorbed with dance, but we took advantage of the remainder of the day once our duties were done. I did some “How to Draws” with my oldest daughter (a tulip, a sunflower, and a taco), we all went for ice cream, then to the park to enjoy the last of the day. We ate supper together, enjoyed the baby together, listened to some music and danced together, played together, laughed together, and read together. Today, my oldest daughter had a great day (her two hour nap yesterday afternoon probably helped). She was well-behaved, cooperative, helpful, and a real treat to be with. Today, I made a point of being with my kids, and I am grateful that I did … after all, “there are only 940 Saturdays between the day [our children are] born and the time [they] turn 18.” This staggering fact has been coming across my social media newsfeed an awful lot lately. 940 seems like a whole lot at first glance, but I’ve already spent 377 of those with oldest … my heart aches when I think of it.

Today was an important and gentle reminder  to take things ONE … DAY … AT … A … TIME when it comes to our children. Babies will have rough days … big kids will have rough days … moms will have rough days. Unfortunately, sometimes, that all ends up on the same day (like yesterday)!

Not every day with my kids will be like today … not every day with my kids will be like yesterday! Every day though I do want to ensure there is space and margin in my days to spend time with my kids … they are happy with so little, to be frank … three “how to draws,” a few games of UNO, taking time to straighten their hair, listening while they tell you about something important to them, getting them involved with supper prep, maintaining a tradition of listening to music and dancing every night at 5:00, laughing at an inside joke, organizing a drawer together … it’s the tiny, little things that we do with our children every day that mean the most to them … and to us. Don’t let those Saturdays (or Sundays or Wednesdays or any other days) slip away! There are fewer left than you might think …