When you have children you have to learn to expect the unexpected and be prepared to be flexible and change all plans at a moment's notice. That is what I had to do this past weekend. Joe stayed home from work to take the girls to the doctor. Other Mama was great enough to meet him there to help (it can get hectic if one needs to go potty and keeping them entertained while you wait). The verdict, Lol had strep and Josie just has a cold. I know it seemed silly to take Josie too when she was not running a fever, but there have been so many cases of the flu around here, I just could not take that chance, especially when we are around so many other children. Well I had had a full weekend planned with lots of time with other children. Not anymore. This was Joe's weekend to work, so I was responsible for keeping the girls. Saturday I was supposed to be at a fundraiser for our Sisters of Service group at church. The only people I could find to watch the girls were Chris and Crystal (not that this is a bad thing, but they have two small children), so I had to stay home with the girls and hope that Joe got home from work in time for me to go for a little while. He didn't. I had also planned for after the fundraiser for our friends Mary Kelley, Tim, and their children to come over to eat so Mary Kelley and I could plan our Sunday School room. (Sidenote: Joe and Tim will be teaching Josie's age group one Sunday a month. I am so proud of him for stepping up this way, actually I am proud of both of them. There just isn't enough male Sunday School teachers.) Well since they have small children, we had to cancel those plans as well. So we spent the entire weekend in the house playing. I think we were all about to go stir crazy and they were super excited to go to Erica's today.
Sometimes when you embark on the journey of parenthood you don't really realize how much having children affects your life, but there is nothing like it. You have to take the good and the bad. My girls are my world. When I start to get down, depressed, or have a bad day I can just look at any of the 11 pictures I have of them around my desk and smile. They never cease to amaze me in how fast they learn things or how much they are absorbing. It is so rewarding to watch them do right and take care of each other and others.
We very rarely get to eat as a family of four because most of the time Joe is not home from work when the girls eat, but on those occassions where we do, it means so much to me. Granted we are bribing Josie to eat one more bite and telling Lol to sit down in her chair the entire time, but to look around at all of us sitting at the table that I ate at as a child (it was my grandparent's table) and knowing how close of a family we are, there is no greater feeling. So sure, I didn't get to do what I wanted this weekend, but that's okay. My girls come first no matter what that means for me.
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