It all started last week. Josh was sick the weekend before last and I received a less potent version of his illness. By Monday evening I had a drippy nose and I had that "I'm sick" feeling. On Tuesday morning I knew I would be able to go to work (I've worked through a LOT worse) but I also knew I would probably be blowing my nose all day and using half the bottle of hand sanitizer trying to prevent my germs from spreading to the kids. And then of course once you start working it tends to drain your energy, thus causing the sickness to drag out. So, I made a decision I don't often make. I would stay home! It was great. I sat on the couch, lounged in chairs and allowed my pillow to get more Elizabeth time as I relaxed like I hadn't in a long time. It gave me time to reflect on the jewel I had been given that day. Time to get well. By 3:00 that afternoon I was able to get some chores done around the house because I was feeling great! I had to laugh to myself as I was lounging again on the couch as I realized there is NO way I would have been able to be as non-productive as I was that day if there were children needing to be taken care of. Now, I don't really speak from experience, just hearsay from other mothers out there.
From there, I started thinking about the activities in my life that would not be happening once we have children. Some things I wonder how in the world I'm going to make it happen. Some people might be wondering why I'm borrowing trouble. Why am I even worried about it? By nature, I'm a planner. For some reason I think about situations before they arise and play out the scenario in my mind. Some of you can relate with that, others can't. That's differences in personality. But, back to my list.
1. In the morning I have devotion time. Some days I can be sitting there for an hour or more. I'm pretty sure that unless I'm up SUPER early those devotions will have interruptions of getting breakfast, wiping hands and making sure all is in order. I do try to practice on my dog by feeding her BEFORE I'm on the couch - even if I have to turn back around! If I'm already seated I try to discipline myself and GET UP to feed her. I think to myself "a kid isn't going to wait for their breakfast like Chloe does." I did imagine yesterday a plump little body cuddling up to me as I was sipping my tea & reading. Hmmm. Does it really happen that way?
2. Josh is usually gone when I shower. I do that after devotions. Sometimes it doesn't happen until right before I'm rushing out the door to work. I get busy with cleaning, doing laundry or writing a blog and time slips away. Since I don't plan to rush out the door to work once we have Baby O around, when will my daily toilet take place? I guess there's always before SUPER early!
3. I had fun yesterday and the day before with my new Norwex cloth (Heather P I'm sure you appreciate that) to do some deep cleaning. I had the six foot ladder inside my living room and was up and down getting the dust and grime off my ceiling fan. The light bulbs were on the couch as I had to screw them out to remove the glass shades. They needed to be washed! I actually had fun. Then I had my dining room all caddywompus to wipe down the light fixture. My vacuum cleaner cord was in a pile on the floor, the table was pushed towards the sliding glass door and the chairs lay tilted this way and that on the floor as I needed to vacuum the dust off the leg bottoms. I know you can involve children in cleaning when they are a older, but a 1 year old?? I'm sure I would not have been as successful at having ladders and light bulbs laying around with Baby O to take care of. Perhaps I won't even think of ceiling fan dust!
4. On Tuesday night Bonnie, Binh, Josh and I head to badminton. We spend about 2-3 hours at a local high school gym getting some exercise. I don't know what's going to happen with that. I've heard say exercise is chasing children around. Hmmm. I also thought the two flights of stairs in college would help me maintain my weight. It didn't happen.
5. I like to sit on the front row at church. Undisturbed by what's happening behind me I can be focused on what's happening in the service. I guess in a little while I will be handling the disruption.
I sure hope this doesn't sound like complaining! I'm too excited about having children to call it that. This is simply my ramblings of "what will I do?" My realization that the last 15 years of my life of having things in order is about to change.
From everything I've heard though, from articles to cute poems, Moms everywhere let the toys scatter, let the dust gather and feel that showering doesn't matter. (Okay, maybe not that last one.) :)
I'm looking forward to seeing how God will replace my love of cleaning ceiling fan dust to wiping sticky hands and reading books three times through at one sitting.
These are important things to think about! Indeed, your life will change completely once you have a child. I know you weren't asking for advice or opinions, but I thought I'd share my perspective...
ReplyDelete1. Devotions... Yes, you can either get up really early to maintain your ritual as is, or you can switch to nighttime devotions, or you can involve your child in the ritual. This would make your devotion time much shorter and noisier, but maybe even more meaningful.
2. Go ahead and shower at the usual time, just get used to the idea that a small person will be hanging out in the bathroom with you during this time. :)
3. If you are like me, you will cease to notice the ceiling dust when you have a child to care for. Okay, who am I kidding? I've never dusted the ceiling in my life.
4. If you have the energy to play badminton, you can play with Bonnie on Tuesdays, and Josh can play with Binh on Wednesdays. :)
5. Sit in the front row! That way, everyone will see your beautiful baby as you rush down the aisle to take him/her to a private place to change diaper or wait for the screaming to stop.
You're going to be a great mom.