inspiration for the day

"The fundamental mission of motherhood now is the same as it always was: to nurture, protect, and instruct children, to create a home environment that enables them to learn and grow, to help them develop a heart for God and his purposes, and to send them out into the world prepared to live both fully and meaningfully.

-Sally Clarkson from the Mission of Motherhood.

I saw this quote on another mom's blog yesterday (www.flythroughourwindow.com) and instantly adored it. Every so often, I need a reminder that as a mom, I do have a mission and that there is a bigger picture. More often than I'd like to admit, the job of motherhood becomes about surviving the day and I wind up parenting more out of emotion than good sense. I wish that I could say that I jump up out of bed every morning eager to see what new adventures the day will bring for myself and my children but those romantic visions are sometitmes shattered by the realities of life and the words, "Mom, I peed in my bed."

I love my children more than I ever thought it was even possible and I do relish so many moments in our lives but temper tantrums, soggy sheets and runny noses can have a way of bringing even the most enthusiastic of mothers down. So, it's nice to have an inspiring quote that reminds me of my mission.

storytime

This Wednesday was the start of preschool storytime at our public library. So, I invited a friend to meet us there with her 2 little girls and I loaded up Hannah and Ethan to go and listen to some stories. I thought it would be great. I thought I had found an outing that could become the type of ritual that Hannah and Ethan would one day look back on and say, "Oh I remember when Mom used to take us to the library for storytime when we were little. I loved it..." Well, let me just tell you, not only was I wrong but the whole thing was a real beating.

First of all, preschool storytime lasted for 45 minutes. I don't know many 3 year olds who can sit still for 45 minutes but they don't have the same last name as me...Then, the very dry, very out-of-touch librarian read book after book. All the while, I attempted to entertain Ethan with every toy and trinket in my purse and Hannah fought him for space on my lap rather than sitting on the rug with the rest of the kids. After half an hour, I had to give up and take them out.

Later that night, still clinging to the idea that I might be right about having found a beloved ritual, I asked Hannah if she had liked storytime at the library. "No. I didn't like it. I just like the one where we sit in my bed and you scratch my back."

"Yeah, I like that one too," I said smiling and realizing that the beloved ritual had been here all along.

controlled chaos?

This is what our playroom looked like yesterday, less than 2 hours after the kids got up from nap time/rest time. I really struggle with toy messes at our house. I know that my kids have a real need to play and that they will make messes but there has to be a better balance between their need to play and my need to not have my house look like something in the path of Hurricane Katrina.

The other aspect of toy messes that I struggle with is the picking up and how much responsibility to put on the kids. The playroom was obviously a complete disaster but Avery’s room needed to be picked up as well. So, in an attempt to establish a weekly ritual where she picks up her room on Sunday evenings, I sent her upstairs to tidy up. I felt like it would be asking too much to have her then come downstairs and help clean up the playroom even though she had, no doubt, been one of the main culprits in the playroom mess.

That left me standing in our post-Katrina playroom with a 19 month old and a 3 year old. I recruited their help with some age-appropriate tasks but the bulk of the work fell to me, Mom. What a shock…

So, my rhetorical question is this: How do I allow my children the freedom to play and be creative without having my house turned upside down at least once a day? And, how do I balance the need to teach them to be responsible for their things with not wanting them to feel as though they spend their entire day picking up?