A Good Day

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you can do it all? The kids play happily together while you whip up a wholesome dinner... The house is sparkling clean and the air holds the sweet smells of baking... The laundry is all done and the pantry is full... No? Me either!

But I feel like I came closer to something of that sort today than I have in quite some time. The last few weeks have been all about traveling, packing, moving, cleaning, unpacking, and somehow managing to keep the kids out of harm's way and off the brink of starvation. Yesterday was stressful for me, as I was feeling the urge to just be normal and not have to make decisions or find places for things (or simply find things). It doesn't help that Joey has had a cold all week, and that Lucy skipped napping all but two days. But I can't blame my attitude on them. At least not entirely.

So today I just ignored the boxes that were crying out to be opened. I looked past the counter top where piles of who-knows-what were begging me to put them in a proper place. I indulged Lucy every time she said "Mommy, do you want to play with me?" I giggled when Joey giggled, and we threw our heads back together and guffawed in joy. I thought about dinner before dinner time and threw something in the crock pot. I baked some treats while getting lunch ready. And when both kids took 3-hour naps (!) I was able to clean my badly-neglected wood floors.

I have to think that my kids' good behavior today had something to do with my lowered stress level and that I was putting less pressure on myself, and therefore on them.

The boxes didn't disappear, and the counter top is still invisible beneath those piles, but they can wait for another time. Today was a good day.

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My favorite quote today: Lucy, when seeing a mosquito bite on my knee, said: "I didn't know they think you are tasty, too!"