"Upsetting the "normal" while creating the beautiful." Annette Kruschek |
My cherubs... seven of them. You look at this picture and see seven children smiling, standing happily near one another, clean clothes, matching outfits, hair combed... complete bliss. Tee-he! I love the beauty of pictures. The real picture should be the kitchen, the laundry room, the earring that is currently stuck in my bathroom drain. These are the images that people are craving for. The "I'm not the only one who deals with that" picture.
While I will say I adore my kids and that this particular day they did cooperate for the camera, life isn't always this way. In fact, at church a couple of months ago I looked over at my 8 year old son only to discover that he had his "church shirt" on inside out. Today while running yet again to the bathroom with my three year old I noticed he had his undies on sideways, (waist through the leg hole) and his little joggers on inside out AND backwards... can you tell that potty training season is in full swing at our house! Sometimes my days go by and I look back and think, "what did I really get accomplished?" I wiped the counter probably 100 times, wiped the same runny nose a gazillion times, lassoed two 3 year olds into and out of the van more times than I can count, made a meal that half of the kids weren't thrilled about but knew that this Mama doesn't bend when it comes to mealtimes so they grinned and politely asked, "how many bites do I need to eat?". This is my day and I am sure the typical day of many fellow parents who are still in the trenches of parenthood. "The trenches" doesn't have to be such a terrible place, in fact it is a place where we as parents can rise above and shine. Heck, you are already down in the trenches, how much lower can you really go (insert humor)! My point is that this part of parenthood is the teaching part that is SO important for those little eyes and ears to witness. Your children are watching you. They are listening to you. They are storing these moments in their little minds and tucking them away for years down the road when they become and adult and decide to begin a family of their own. These tedious tasks of wiping counters, wiping noses, wiping behinds, sorting laundry, making meals, running errands, etc. etc. etc. may seem dull, uneventful and repetitive but trust me its building a foundation, a strong foundation that you created out of sacrifice. Let me make it very clear for my dear readers that I am not suggesting we as parents do the work for them. No way. My kids would love nothing more if that were the case but in our home it is well known that everyone has jobs. It takes a family to make the mess and that family will clean it up together. I would never get out of my house if my kids didn't put their own laundry away. I would never have company over if my kids didn't clean bathrooms. My point is that day to day and second by second we as parents are being called upon to put them in front of us and our needs. When we empty ourselves for them we are allowing our children to see sacrificial love. Love that rises early in the morning and stays up late in the evening until everyone is tucked into their beds. Love that puts warm blankets into the dryer for a sick child with the chills. Love that makes new meals only to have them become a flop. Love that asks to play a board game when all you really want to do is hide in your bedroom for a few minutes. Love isn't always packaged with a bright red bow on the top of a perfectly wrapped present. Nope, authentic love is imperfect and oddly packaged BUT that is what makes it unique. Unique in the way that it is sufficient. More than sufficient. So much so that it will be remembered and passed on to others AND that is the key... passing it on. Watching your children passing on your sacrificial love to others. That is the real gift. As the holidays approach and you talk about who will be at your table I want to remind you of this. Look at your children. Remind yourself of the daily sacrifices you make day to day and tell yourself this, "My sacrifices do not go unseen for one day, for maybe tomorrow my child will pay it forward to someone else." Think of how many people your children will come into contact with during their lifetime. Be the reason that they helped someone else, emptied themselves and poured into someone else for no other reason than love. Now ask yourself this... how many grandchildren could be represented in the faces that currently sit around your table right now. It may be hard to imagine if you still have little hands and wiggly bodies at the table but before you know it these children will grow up, move out and be free to make their own decisions. Be the person who helped them make their life rewarding because of sacrificial love. That counter. That laundry basket. That runny nose isn't trivial. It's the foundation to great love. This Thursday is Thanksgiving. The day to be grateful for all that we have. That is the day that I will pour into my kids, create memories and most likely say a thousand mini prayers in my head to get me through the messy counters, loudness, busyness, and tiredness BUT between these moments I will see glimpses of future gatherings and future traditions being made by all of them when they are older. What do you want your Thanksgiving table to look like when you are older? Grab it. Own it. It's never to late to start sacrificing for the good of others. From my crew to yours... Happy Thanksgiving!!
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AuthorI am a proud Mother to eight children and a wife to my very best friend. I work hard, play hard and love until it hurts. Archives
January 2023
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