Oh!

Oh, the vomit.
I’ve dealt with vomit
three of the last four weeks.
Oh, the sickness.
Sickness since December 4th.
Oh, the laundry.
It is the folding that
gets me every time.
Oh, the winter.
I’m done with you.
I’m ready to welcome Spring.
I’ll be so glad for Spring I may
even throw a party.
Who is with me?
Hello?
{crickets}
And another thing.
What is with leggings?
I want to love them.
I want to own them.
But I don’t get it.
Leggings?
Really?
Aren’t they just glorified sweat pants?

Tidbits

A few tidbits from our week…

Me: Happy Valentine’s Day!
Luke: Is Jesus here?

I had a stomach virus this week
and Luke is now preoccupied with
my throw-up.
Every single time I cough or
make an unexpected sound
he asks if my throw-up is coming.

Nolan has the bug now.
Noise does not accompany
his 14month old vomit.
I just get to find it,
Sort of like treasure….
but so not.

Last night celebrating my
Dad’s birthday I asked him
how old he was.
“Eight squared!” he replied.
An entirely normal answer for him.
And Luke’s preschool application
has been submitted and interview scheduled.

Mash-Up

Camille Made Me Do It

My friend Camille,
the one who always
has a great haircut,
made me sign-up for
a half marathon.

Ok.
She didn’t actually
make me.
We are going to
do it together.
I figure she can
roll/push/kick
me over the finish line.
That’s what friends are for,
right?

Seriously.
She is doing it.
I’m doing it.
We both signed up today.
And here is what I know.

I’m going to finish that race.
I know something else.
I’ve never ever been so
unprepared for anything
in my entire life while at the
same time entirely confident
that come race day, well,
I’ll be ready to race.

Yelling & Forgiveness

for the most part
i try not to yell at people.
it is not an effective means of communication.
and really, yelling at another person speaks more about
you than it does the person you are yelling at.
i especially try not to yell at my children.
i have a serious imeanbusinessyoungman voice
but it isn’t yelling.
yelling at kids is not effective,
unless you are trying to humiliate them.
because isn’t being yelled at humiliating?
i have yelled before.
i am not perfect.
but it rarely happens.
it happened yesterday morning though.

the last two weeks have tested
my woman/wife/mother moxie.
and yesterday i was hanging on by a frayed thread.
i was making lunch as fast as i could.
nolan was in his highchair and
i’m tossing him crackers to keep
his screaming at bay.
luke is in and out of the kitchen,
grazing for crackers.
i hand him a melamine bowl
with a few crackers.
he eats them and starts
dropping the bowl.
a melamine bowl on a
ceramic floor is l o u d.
i asked if he was ok.
he said yes.
second drop.
i ask him to stop dropping the bowl
and return to making lunch.
i look up.
i see him holding the bowl,
putting his fingers in his ears,
and then he drops the bowl.
oh. jeesh.
he is dropping the bowl on purpose
and plugging his ears so he doesn’t have
to hear the loud crash.
nice.
i ask him to come to me
and bring the bowl.
he picks up the bowl and makes
his way to me.
as he is walking i cut up some
more fruit for lunch
and then CRASH right at my feet.
a bowl broken at my feet.
little boy with fingers in his ears.
and i yell.
I ASKED YOU TO STOP DROPING THE BOWL.
right away i’m shocked at my response.
and i’m so so sorry.
i drop to my knees and gather his hands.
i tell my boy i’m sorry for yelling
and ask him to forgive me.
he says he forgives me and we hug.
i’m mentally trying to regain my senses
as he breaks away and says he needs to lie
on the couch.
he asks me to call him when lunch is ready.
i say ok.
humbled i go back to sandwich making and
begin to rebuke myself for raising my voice.
minutes later he is walking back to me,
crying.
in that breakyourheart crying child voice he says,
i am sorry i dropped the bowl and it broke. please forgive me.

and so it goes.
teaching and being taught.
again and again.
we need God’s grace
for this moment,
not yesterday or tomorrow.
and we need God’s forgiveness
most of all.