On Being RealMom

When we see other people's lives we often don't see the chaos.  We see what they want us to see.  My life is normally very organized, I didn't say perfect, but we are creatures of routine here.  Once in awhile I think God likes to shake things up for us a bit, I think HE thinks it's comical.  (It's thinking like that that keeps me smiling and doing the best I can).  Well, today we had a bizarre day.  This is not incredibly out of the ordinary. My life isn't perfect, and that's OK.  But, looking back on this day we all had to sort of a chuckle.  So, a not quite so ordinary, but not completely infrequent kind of day....

• Spent half the day working at VBS (my first time). I brought my 2 year old Logan with.  He enjoyed it for the first hour, not the next 3.  Have you ever tied Rosary knot after Rosary knot while holding a 25 lb child?
• Got home and fed the kids, then took a 20 min. nap.
• Rushed out to the grocery store with 5 year old Elizabeth.  I'm dealing with an upper back injury and everything was fine until I started loading those groceries.
• Got home and iced my back while the kids put the groceries away.
• Realized how late it was and we needed to leave for the soccer field in less than 1 hour.
• Doled out jobs to make that happen, and took the youngest 4  on a semi-necessary errand.
• Brought dinner to the game and did my best to get there on time.  I took a wrong turn and we got there 5 minutes late (we were supposed to be there 20 minutes early).  I have to say in my defense, we've been going to Anna's soccer games for years and we have NEVER ever even been close to being late.
• Park the van and start to dig out dinner in the van since it's pouring rain, and Anna doesn't know anyone on this new team well enough to ask for a ride.  There was certainly the potential that game would be cancelled with the weather we were having.
• See Anna at the window.  Her team isn't there.  I must have written the time down wrong.  Again, in my defense, in all these years this has never happened.  And, after getting home I double checked all the times, this was the only one I wrote down wrong.
• Drive home and eat our dinner there.
• Drive Anna back to soccer, bring Teresa.
• Drive back home to pick up Logan, and drop off Teresa.
• Drive back to soccer and get there just in time for half time. 
• We had the half time snack.
• Logan and I watched Anna play.  It was a great game, and the kids were obviously having fun in the rain and muck.  It's really fun to see 8-11th grade girls have fun in the rain and muck.
• My husband was home from work by this time and had everyone in their PJ's.  We said our prayers and sent the kids to bed.  I was tired.  I still needed to change Logan.  I layed him on the bed, and, well, he's a boy, and he hasn't done that since he was a newborn.  This time he found it hilarious!  Need I say more?
• Follow Logan to the bathroom where he excitedly finishes.   Get him ready for bed, take off our bedspread. 
• Stay up late waiting for those VBS shirts to get done in the washing machine.  We need them in the morning. 
• Lament the fact that this is the first day in 2 weeks I didn't go on a bike ride.  I should have ordered my groceries to be delivered like I had planned to do.  I could be doing that right now and I could have taken my bike ride,  And I wouldn't have hurt my back again.

So, that is partly why I use the name RealMom4Life.  I am a real mom.  I have bizarre days, I have great days, I have, well, less than great days...trying to keep those to a minimum.  4Life has a double meaning....I hope to always be real and keep smiling through the less than perfectness of my life.  And, hey, I am pro-life.