Last night I had some plans. I wanted to put the kids to bed, clean three rooms of the house, do Wii Fit, and take a long relaxing bath. I think any stay at home mom would agree that those are some big, extravagant, fabulous plans. With everything I do in a day for others, (that I would not complain about) by the time that night rolls around, and it's time to put the kiddies to bed, I find myself crawling right in to bed too, foregoing any housework, or showering, or even brushing my teeth, things I had planned to do when the kids were out of my hair. Not that I don't love them in my hair. It's just that it's difficult to get things done.
So I didn't exactly expect the evening to go exactly as I wanted it to, but I hoped. And I didn't even realize that I had sabotaged myself until hours after I'd done it. So the first hiccup to my dazzling evening came when I was trying to play a netflix movie through our Wii. I discovered a mouse or something had chewed right through the censor bar wire! So that nixed the Wii Fit. Which, hey, being 9 weeks pregnant and exhausted didn't perturb me so badly, it was nice to have an excuse not to do it. But the kids were pretty upset about not getting to watch the new veggie tales and I had just brought them in from drinking iced teas and playing outside so it was automatically bathtime. It takes up a nice chunk of time and the the kids enjoy it. Though, it makes mommy tired. It was sometime after the bath, and dinner that I realized what I'd done to further extinguish my grand plans. It was rounding about the time that the boy gets sleepy and the girls decide to sort of chill out and ask to watch a show, and none of this was happening. My son was running around like a chicken with his head cut off, and the girls we little chatterboxes. It dawned on me, the ICED TEAS! I usually make caffeine free tea but was out and just absentmindedly made whatever we had which was not decaffeinated. Apparently. So while bed time is not difficult around here on a normal day, I was frightened of laying down the law with my three banshees. Ask me anytime and I will tell you, it is a big mistake to refrain from discipline, or proper parenting because you fear your children's reactions. But last night, the horror made my teeth chatter. So as any good, and imaginative parent would, I adjusted. Chucked any shreds of a plan left out the window and went about taking care of the hyper children, poor things, they weren't sure what was going on with them, it was an unsettling night for all and I needed to reassure them that all was ok. So we played, and talked, and laughed at the little brother and his crazy antics until I decided we could at least turn the lights out and sort of calm down. And eventually, the kids that normally go to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 finally went down around 11:00.
Even though my hopes were dashed does not mean my evening was ruined. Just because you have some idea of something happening in your head does not mean that a bad mood should result if things don't happen the way you plan. When you feel it all slipping away from you, despite your best grip, stop a minute and pray, or meditate, or count to ten, and realize that you are in control of how you react, and look for blessings. It could turn out better than you imagined. That's what happened for me last night, and let's face it, happens for me a lot. And I don't always pray and take it with a smile. But last night I did. And I was so blessed. I had a great conversation with my two year old that I wouldn't have had if was I scrubbing the kitchen floors. I got to watch my son imitate his big sisters in his own clumsy way. I got to stop and watch. My kids are growing up before my eyes, and I don't see it when I'm vacuuming. I got to really watch a movie with my four year old and jump and, scream and the same parts, and answer questions, giving her all my attention, instead of soaking in the tub.
And I was so blessed by those things. I will take a ton of baths in my life, I will wash the same dishes over and over and over again, and I will at some point get to exercise. But I will never get to live last night again. So I am so glad I spent it the way I did.