Everyday

I struggle sometimes with the "everydayness" of every day.  After a while, it all starts to look the same.  Yesterday was the same as today, which is the same as tomorrow.  My husband goes to work, my kids wake up earlier than I'd like them to, we eat, we homeschool, change diapers, play, eat homeschool, change diapers, play, sleep...an endless cycle.  It's not exciting.  It seems like there's not much to look forward to.  And on the surface, maybe there isn't.

I have to remind myself to hold on to the little things, the "moments". 

I hold on to the few minutes spent in the van on the way home from buying groceries that Aaron and I get a chance to talk to each other--before the kids are in bed! 

I hold on to the three minutes of listening to a song together that says exactly how we feel about each other before we are home and have to begin the process of bringing groceries in, getting kids to bed and putting everything in it's place. 

I hold on to the precious moments when, after screaming in a way that only a baby can, Lily is soothed by Mommy and smiles at me like I gave her the world. 

I hold on to how impatient I feel waiting for Malachi to cut something out for school when it would have only taken me five seconds, knowing that this moment is important too, because he's learning how to use scissors, and I'm learning to let him do it himself (though no matter how hard I try, I can't always resist trimming the edges, I confess!).

When I think about these things, it makes me smile, and it makes me feel like I do have something to look forward to tomorrow after all. 

I look forward to seeing what funny thing Izzy might do, or finding out that Simeon knows morer than I realized.

I look forward to finding a way to spend time with Aaron, and a way to make the evening fun for the whole family (except maybe Lily, who doesn't really care about "family time" right now--she'd much prefer to have Mommy to herself) even if we just stay home and do normal stuff. 

I look forward to what God might do tomorrow that I'm not expecting, how He might speak something to me, or use me to show His love to my kids.

Maybe "everydayness" isn't so bad after all.