Serina asked in the comments, “you work, work some more, take care of the kids, take care of the house…when do you read?” Here’s my secret: I don’t take good care of the house, always, and sometimes I get behind on other things as well. In the midst of a busy and chaotic life, the things that make me feel accomplished, sane and fulfilled have to take precedence. For me, that’s reading, taking pictures and crafting/creating. I get creative and I find time, no matter what our family circumstances. Lately, I’ve been carving out time by making sure I go to the JCC once a week sometime between 4 and 6:30, putting the kids in the nursery, not to work out, but to get an hour and a half to read during an otherwise trying time of day.
I love my life, I have a remarkable husband and two delightful little girls. I am exceedingly thankful I get to spend so much time with them, but I am also thankful I have ten hours a week to work or clean or read while they are at nursery school. Unsurprisingly, I’m not a perfect parent, and they aren’t perfect children. We have moments of connectedness, love and joy I couldn’t begin to put into words. We also have moments where I wonder if I say “you get what you get and you don’t throw fits!” one more time, will I lose it? And I do lose it. And my children lose it. But there is grace, grace freely given for all of us.
Love keeps no record of wrong. This blog is a record of my life. Think of it as a highlight reel. It’s nothing but the truth, but it’s not the whole truth. Luckily, I have friends who do know the whole truth, who are walking through my life with its chaos with me. And they know I am not wonder woman, and they can advise me when I am lost or frustrated or hurt or I just don’t know what to do. The fact that I don’t often post about those things here doesn’t mean they don’t happen. I just like to remind my readers of that every year or so, of how blogging and real life intersect for our family.