When I look back on this time in my life there are a lot of things I won't remember. Details grow cold, memories are limited, and present day takes over. Soon my babies won't be babies and I will forget how much work it is to get them in and out of the care (19 times in the Fresno heat). I will forget what it is like to have to wipe bottoms and remind people which shoe goes on which foot. I may even forget how to do all things while holding a small child on my hip. But I won't forget the screen shot of this feeling. It is both overwhelming and grand. So overwhelming and grand that for the first time in years I sleep. My children cured my insomnia. I dream of every day mom things with a twist. So ordinary and real that I sometimes can't distinguish between my dreams and reality. I am living the dream.
Here's a little tidbit of the dream. This time when my toddler unrolls 75% of a new toilet paper roll, this time is fleeting (and trumped by the time my toddler put all of her brothers Star Wars fighter pods in the toilet).
The good news is that I am finally catching on. I wake up early. I have a 30 minute lunch break. I finally take all three kids out in public and run errands all day. I dress the part. I let them yell and scream and jump on their bed. I plan and prepare. I give them real responsibilities. And I make time to love them.
Last week as I watched all three of my children riveted by the tortilla bowl infomercial another light bulb went off. No more yelling, no more repeating myself. If I want them to do something, I deliver it in my best infomercial Billy Mays voice. And guess what? It totally works. And it is sort of hilarious.
