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Grateful
Thursday, March 25, 2010 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
Welcome back (insert "sigh" here). Even with the greatest and cutest of kids (I bet you have one too
), sometimes I forget how amazing this journey is.
Like most mamas (and daddys too), I run through my week. From the moment I wake, I begin the marathon race called "the day." Where I am running to and why, sometimes I wonder. At times, it is fun. Other times, it is frustrating. Sometimes, the routine grows old and I grow weary.
The day often begins with the siren coming from my little one's room. It's either a mournful whine signaling she is awake or sometimes the happy "conversation" between her, Diego and Dora. There is no need for an alarm clock in our house. If it isn't the munchkin, the two labs will make sure we're awake to put food in their bowls at 5:15am.
Stumbling through the house not quite awake, I fumble to make breakfast. Sometimes it is a four-course meal as I work to find the food that she is wanting that moment. I know most parenting experts would say don't do that, but I don't really care. I like to see her feeling good from a morning meal and am willing to turn things upside down to make that happen.
We read. We potty. I shower.
I try to get dressed in matching clothes and then I attempt to get out the door (hopefully early enough to stop for coffee). Then, it's into the office to shuffle paperwork. The workday ends and I run to get my girl.
We go home. We play. We eat dinner. We bathe. We read. And then it is time for rest.
We'll repeat this routine until the weekend. The weekend is where we find freedom from the daily grind. We find freedom from the routine that dictates our week.
Sometimes it gets me down. It gets old. Then there is the sharp reminder of how grateful I should be for this "dullness" in my life.
Today it came from a phone call from a parent. Their teenager is sick. There was the unexpected hospitalization nearly a month ago. Today, dad called following another doctor's appointment. There are more appointments ahead. The child may or may not be well enough to return to their "normal" activities.
It's the stuff that shakes me to my core. It's the stuff that reminds me how amazing daily developments and routines really are.
Can you imagine how much this father wants to return to his daily grind? Can you imagine how much he wants to return to the dullness that was their routine? He wants to be the chauffeur that has to get his little girl here and there. He wants to go into the office and just focus on his job.
It makes me quake when these things happen. It makes me grateful for the life I have.
As parents, there's only so much we can control in our chid's lives. There's only so much we can control about their development.
Signed,
Grateful for Today
How about you?
