we played "catch up" around here on Saturday. spent the day cleaning, re-organizing, and baking in preparation for Grandma Johnson's arrival on Wednesday. she'll be holding down the fort (bless her heart) while Gary and I head out on our big hike this coming weekend. we're all extremely excited to see her, as she hasn't made a trip down here since we moved oh what, two and a half years ago. so yeah, it's high time she paid us a visit :-) wait, did I just say two and a half years ago? wow, time sure flies when you're having fun!
and speaking of baking, wasn't it just a couple weeks ago that I spent an entire week stuffing my freezer with meals and goodies? unless my memory is severely failing me, I'm pretty sure it was. hmmm, let's see. for the record, I made three double batches of cookies, a pan of pumpkin bars, another of banana bars, granola, a hundred meatballs, one and a half dozen pasties, chicken pot pie, spaghetti sauce, several pounds of browned hamburger, cooked and shredded chicken, as well as a beef roast.
uh well, except for fifty meatballs, everything is gone. let me repeat: GONE. like, what? I know we have nine, uh make that eleven, mouths to feed, but still. I don't think I will ever get over how quickly the food disappears around this joint. it's a losing battle, one that I realize will only get worse as the kids get older. sigh. it makes me weary just thinking about it.
in fact, as I was staring at yet another heap of dirty dishes in the sink at 10 o'clock last night, I thought to myself, how can parenting be so rewarding, but at the same time, so thankless? every day, from morning till evening I-- and Gary, once he's home from work-- bust our backsides around here; cleaning, making meals, seeing to it that everyone's needs are met, running to appointments, chauffeuring kids here and there, etc, etc. I'm sure the kids appreciate it, but sometimes it feels like it's all for naught. the work is exhausting, the demands endless, and no one is there patting us on our backs going, hey good job guys, keep it up! no, instead they're biting us, peeing on us, barfing on us, and tapping us on our shoulders asking, hey can I have $20?
but on the other hand, when I snuggle my baby, taking in the sweet scent of her skin; watch my toddler explore outside, delighting in new sights and sounds; see my kindergartener's eyes light up when she finally "gets" something; or hear my three oldest girls chatting and giggling together in their room late at night, that's when I realize how fortunate I am. as difficult a job being a mother may be, I must remember that this is the life, the plan God chose for me.
it's up to me to do my part; to be the best mom I can to my children. and love them unconditionally.
-jessica
2 comments:
What a perfect "Mom" post! The food thing is sooo depressing! And our oldest is only 9 and we have only 9 mouths to feed now, I can only imagine when all these boys are teenagers how much food is going to pass through here!
But what a good reminder that it is up to us to be the best mom we can to our children!
Awesome post Jessica!!
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