“Mooooooooma!”
A wild-haired, sleepy-eyed, nearly 3 year old calls to me from her room.
“Mooooma! I’m awake! Come get me!”
“Shhhh, baby girl! I’m coming! Bubby is still asleep!”
“Momma! I’m awake too!” a groggy second voice echoes down the hallway.
“Well, Bubby was still asleep.” I mutter under my breath.
Light floods in from the backdoor exposing every dust bunny and dirt trail. I take a minute to wonder if they will still be there when the sun comes up tomorrow. I promise myself that they won’t be.
Tomorrow, when sun comes up and shouts that a new day has begun, the dust bunnies won’t shout for my attention as well.
I greet the kids with smiles and hugs.
“Good morning! I love you! Today is going to be a good day!”
I am reminding myself… The words are just as much for me as they are for them.
“It’s going to be a good day.”
All too quickly they will ask for breakfast that they will mostly just examine.
I will clean up the morning dishes and unload and reload the dishwasher. I will put away the last few things that didn’t get put away the night before as I watch the first batch of toys be pulled from the playroom.
I will make phone calls and pay bills all while answering questions about the whereabouts of Tinkerbell’s other pixie shoe.
I will moderate disagreements fights over who gets to hold the purple block because one is collecting the purples and the other is building and needs the final piece.
I will make second breakfast when they get hungry at 10 and would much rather be eating a snack than oatmeal.
I will sit down and start one on tracing his letters and the other outlining letters with buttons… and every 15 minutes stop putting away laundry so that I can help pick up the button box that fell from the kitchen table and sent colorful beads in every direction across the wood floors.
I will start thinking about lunch – which will lead to thinking about dinner – which will lead to a trip to the grocery store.
I will make lunch and clean up lunch and moderate another fight over who gets to hold “Jesse” from Toy Story because one wants to make her dance and the other needs her to be rescued by “Buzz.”
I will declare it naptime.
I will not get frustrated when suddenly they have a new interest in the lunch I put away 30 minutes before.
We will have second lunch.
I will again declare it to be naptime.
After potty breaks and naptime hugs and window curtains pulled shut, I will walk to the living room and sit.
I will wonder if I should finish paperwork or answer emails or clean or pre-prep dinner or nap.
I will use every ounce of my strength to fight off a nap and rise from the couch.
The next hour and a half will pass in 15 minutes – time speeds up during naptime – everyone knows this.
It will be time to start making dinner… and then we will eat it… and then I will clean it… and then we will have baths and bedtime stories… and the final “Mommas” will echo down the hall requesting a drink or a hug or one last trip to the potty.
Before I know it, I will be walking back across the hard floors on my way to start another day.
And the dust bunnies will still be there – and they will have invited friends.
And I will promise myself again, “Tomorrow, when sun comes up and shouts that a new day has begun, the dust bunnies won’t shout for my attention as well.”
… and I will greet the kids with smiles and hugs.
And I will again proclaim that today is going to be a good day.
And it will be… because there is breath in my lungs… there is joy in my heart… and I will choose to stand on the promises of a faithful God.
So, today, before anyone or anything has a chance to shout my name… I will shout His! I proclaim that I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. I will bless the Lord who calls me His own. I will sing of His great and glorious works.
Because while there will always be things that require my attention, I will keep focused on the Love that lives and works through me.
And that will make today great… because HE is Great… and through Him… I get to be great too.
