Thoughts.com Blogs - welcome to the tornado

     Here is my first brief view into the life of a very busy wife and mom of eight. I hope after you read it, from the comfort of your quiet, comfy chair, you end up with a feeling that it isn't all bad to have what you might consider a boring, lonely life. What you might consider a bad thing (being lonely or bored) someone else might envy on days like this. Again, don't get me wrong, I love my family and acknowledge them as a blessing but what most people don't understand is when you are in the midst of it all you just can't enjoy it like you would have anticipated.
     My day started with me having to get up earlier than my body wanted after a not so great night of sleep. I had gone to bed at 11:15 after making as many preparations for today as possible to make things go easier. It took four natural sleep aid pills (melatonin and valerian root) plus another hour and a half of laying there before my body would unwind enough to let me sleep. I slept for three and a half hours before I woke up, needing to "feed" our woodstove (it was freezing last night here in good, ol' Michigan). I was able to get another 2 hours and 15 minutes before I forced myself to get up.
     So after my 5 hours of sleep, I went in the bathroom, gave a quick look in the mirror to make sure I didn't look so bad I would scare the children, then fixed my 8 year old's hair. Next was to go downstairs, squeeze orange juice for my husband (a treat he really enjoys and I like to provide), fix his lunch for work, pack four school lunch boxes (homemade caramel corn for their snack, peanut butter and jelly crepes,cheese puffs, a go-gurt yogurt and jello for dessert) and get breakfast heated. While breakfast was heating I pored juice (grape juice for some and orange juice for others) and got my 2 year old dressed. After everything was warm I prayed with the children and let them eat. Then it was time for me to return to the kitchen to get a bottle for my 7 month old and cottage cheese and yogurt for myself (a rare treat to eat breakfast within the first hour of being awake, plus I gotta count calories so I can lose the twenty pounds I don't want). I fed the baby at the same time I tried to eat, without dropping my food on her in the process. Once we both finished, I had my 13 year old start the van (again, because it was FREEZING!) while I got the baby changed and dressed. Next, it was get boots on and load up children, backpacks, lunches and sleds and get to school on time. Thankfully, school is only 5 miles away so that is one of the easier things about the day (other than, with such a short trip, my 15 passenger dodge doesn't even start to blow heat until I pull back into the driveway). I helped the children to their classrooms and returned home. I didn't bother taking my boots off because I needed to bring in wood for the day (builds great muscles). Once I brought in enough wood I removed my boots and coat and said "Hi" to my husband, who was now downstairs eating the breakfast I fixed for him. We got to talk a little bit after he helped clean up bubble solution that our 6 year old spilled when attempting to open the bottle of them that he "won" at church last night. Then off to work he went (the joy of his day, drive 45 minutes to a job he hates,but at least it is a job).
     And that is where you find me now, holding a baby, typing this entry with one hand. And think, that was only the first two hours of my day. The rest of my day is looking like this......bathe the two children who are currently in the bath tub, screaming at eachother, finish the load of laundry I started this morning which I forgot to mention earlier, get the preschooler ready for school, fix lunch for the four at home, bring my 4 year old to PM preschool, come home put three down for a quick nap,get back up, pick up children from school (all but one who stays for basketball who will return in time to wolf down dinner and leave again), feed them dinner (which I have to make somewhere in between all that, and shove them back out the door for a pre-arranged roller skating date with daddy and another family. Oh yeah,somehow find time to do homework with the children as well. Do you feel the sense of being in a tornado yet?

     So I ask, does being alone and bored in a quiet home really sound that awful? Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it in abundance. I look forward to writing again and hopefully include some history about how I got where  I am today. Have a wonderful, peaceful day and in the process, reach out to someone who could use some encouragement or help instead of focussing on being alone. Being alone gives you an opportunity I don't have. Look at all the possibilities you have.
     Hope to hear from you and talk again soon.
Kathy

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