Every first Thursday of the month, I pack up the kids and head to Zion Church for a Mom 2 Mom Breakfast Brunch. About 40 women get together to have breakfast, listen to a speaker, and get into small groups for discussion for two hours and the Grace Chapel group has pretty much become my lifeline as a mother of small kids. On Thursday mornings, we get together at someone's house, Milkworks, or a park around town to just hang out, let the kids entertain themselves, and swap horror stories and milestones. Over the last 9 months I have become pretty close with them, and we've all opened up to share some pretty heavy things with each other.
Today was an honest example of how much we need to stay connected to friends. Prepare to laugh...or cry, if your day was like mine.
*
It was already 9:15 (M2M starts at 9:30 across town) and I hadn't even gotten changed yet! At least the kids were dressed and Anikka was already wailing in her carseat. As I shoveled my hair into a ponytail and threw on my old pre-pregnancy jeans (and no, rest assured, they do NOT fit well at 6 weeks post-partum, but I had no clean pants other than them), I looked down and thought I should wear shoes instead of flip flops because they are fairly long. Hmm.
Going out to the car to get both kids strapped in, I pulled on a little strand that was loose and my pant leg ripped part-way up the back. Shoot! Oh well, we're already late.
We get there right at 9:30 and with Little Lu in one hand, and the Peanut Lady in the carseat in the other, I start to walk across the parking lot and right as I see a woman coming towards me, I smile to say "hi" and BAM! Right into the curb. Carseat hits the pavement (she literally went right back to sleep, coulda cared less, thank goodness) and Lu's head barely hit the sidewalk, my jeans and knee is another story. My pants ripped even more in 4 places!!!! Check out that picture! I'll spare you of my knee, just know that it is scrapped up, raw, and bloody. And it hurts. Although I'm thankful my kids weren't hurt, I was pretty embarassed and my pride was crushed. Ouch.
Once Lukka was in his nursery room with the other toddlers for the morning, I went into the main room and found my friends. I explained what happened. We sat down for breakfast and no kidding, I spilled juice all over the table! My friend came around to give me a big hug, and I accidently broke her plate! I was a little nervous to move at that point. A mother from Grace was the speaker today and she was articulate and honest, personal, and firm. Her speech, about removing the pride from ourselves as mothers was just what I needed to hear. There is always going to be someone who can pull it together, get more things done, and look perfectly shiny and better than me. All I can do is find my security in God, and give him the credit if my kids turn out ok. And that, is a pretty freeing thought. Especially when I am trying to do 4 things at once while (not really) paying attention to my kids and cleaning the house for our company later in the day. Every time I have a day like this, I am never sure which reaction will happen: Will I laugh at myself, or cry because I've just lost all sense of control?
Luckily, with good friends, today was a day I laughed at myself, and made some cute bermuda shorts in the process (see below...those jeans look familiar?) Oh yeah. And praise the Lord for chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!
Today was an honest example of how much we need to stay connected to friends. Prepare to laugh...or cry, if your day was like mine.
*
It was already 9:15 (M2M starts at 9:30 across town) and I hadn't even gotten changed yet! At least the kids were dressed and Anikka was already wailing in her carseat. As I shoveled my hair into a ponytail and threw on my old pre-pregnancy jeans (and no, rest assured, they do NOT fit well at 6 weeks post-partum, but I had no clean pants other than them), I looked down and thought I should wear shoes instead of flip flops because they are fairly long. Hmm.
Going out to the car to get both kids strapped in, I pulled on a little strand that was loose and my pant leg ripped part-way up the back. Shoot! Oh well, we're already late.
We get there right at 9:30 and with Little Lu in one hand, and the Peanut Lady in the carseat in the other, I start to walk across the parking lot and right as I see a woman coming towards me, I smile to say "hi" and BAM! Right into the curb. Carseat hits the pavement (she literally went right back to sleep, coulda cared less, thank goodness) and Lu's head barely hit the sidewalk, my jeans and knee is another story. My pants ripped even more in 4 places!!!! Check out that picture! I'll spare you of my knee, just know that it is scrapped up, raw, and bloody. And it hurts. Although I'm thankful my kids weren't hurt, I was pretty embarassed and my pride was crushed. Ouch.
Once Lukka was in his nursery room with the other toddlers for the morning, I went into the main room and found my friends. I explained what happened. We sat down for breakfast and no kidding, I spilled juice all over the table! My friend came around to give me a big hug, and I accidently broke her plate! I was a little nervous to move at that point. A mother from Grace was the speaker today and she was articulate and honest, personal, and firm. Her speech, about removing the pride from ourselves as mothers was just what I needed to hear. There is always going to be someone who can pull it together, get more things done, and look perfectly shiny and better than me. All I can do is find my security in God, and give him the credit if my kids turn out ok. And that, is a pretty freeing thought. Especially when I am trying to do 4 things at once while (not really) paying attention to my kids and cleaning the house for our company later in the day. Every time I have a day like this, I am never sure which reaction will happen: Will I laugh at myself, or cry because I've just lost all sense of control?
Luckily, with good friends, today was a day I laughed at myself, and made some cute bermuda shorts in the process (see below...those jeans look familiar?) Oh yeah. And praise the Lord for chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!
Comments
xoxo! (missed you at knitting)
Cute shorts by the way. :)
P.S. You didn't even miss a beat after taking a ginormous fall! I wouldn't have known you had a bad morning at all (if I wouldn't have seen the even more ginormous rip in your jeans.) :)