A Beautiful Reflection Into A Chaotic Reality
Seven weeks into life with two young children, I am trying to figure out how I ever thought I was busy with just one! We are experiencing what I would say is "typical" for parents going from one child to two. The busy truth we are facing now is the fact that the teams are even 2 to 2 (even though at times, we feel like there must be 3 or 4 of them running around).
We sat down to eat dinner on Sunday night, and nothing was really going as planned. Our intent to eat dinner with a family from church fell through when our 2 year old woke up with a dreaded case of pink eye. (And for the record, getting eye drops in a 2 year old's eye is near impossible), which left us scrambling to put something together for dinner. Our 7 week old, Owen, was hungry (again) when we sat down to eat, then seemed fussy afterwards (probably a combination of his reflux and gas he's been fighting) and needed to be bounced. Our 2 year old kept interrupting, only wanted to eat one thing on her plate and got upset when she was told she could not have a third helping of pasta. And we kept reheating our food in hopes that we might actually get to eat a few bites warm, but I'm pretty sure neither of us won out on that either.
As I was walking around the kitchen bouncing our infant, and my husband was at the table trying to calm down our pink-and-puffy eyed toddler unhappy about not getting thirds, I saw something. In the chaos of the night, with the kitchen a mess, children upset, tired parents, and toys strewn across the floor, I saw the reflection of "us" - our family - and I saw it as beautiful. So often, when we are in the middle of something, we lose sight of the gift that something truly is. Even though parenting is tough and tiring, my life is so full because of these little children God has given me. So if I trip over my son's bouncy seat for the 8th time tonight, it's because I am the mother of an infant. What a blessing it is!
God is writing our life story, and Owen and Ava make up part of that story! Life isn't about me anyways, and the quicker I can grab hold of that reality, the better Mom I believe I will be to my children. This "new" normal will take some time to adjust to, and my husband and I will have to fight even more to make time for each other and our marriage. But that's worth fighting for - for our children, for us, and for the committment we made to and before the Lord on our wedding day.
What I see reflected is truly beautiful, because our family is unique, as is yours, and what we have been given is a gift not to be taken for granted or wished away. Soon, my son will no longer need to be bounced, and my daughter will eventually mature and not get upset about dinner options. And when that time comes, I will have other concerns to think about, ones that I didn't have to think about when they were 2 years old, so I want to cherish each moment I have, and be grateful for what I've been given. The Lord will carry me through each day and provide me with the strength that I need, even when it seems too difficult.
Take time to see the beauty reflected in your family, and see how it might change the way you interact with each other. Cherish these gifts today.