A Bit of Crazy Mixed with the Good

Everywhere I go, people comment on how I have my hands full.

Or how I must be busy.

And I never totally know how to respond, so I usually just smile and agree and say, "We are blessed!"

But I must confess that today, I definitely felt busy.

It was a non-stop, multi-tasking, hard-core mothering kind of day.

And yet, at the same time, it also felt so very normal.

In between making thank you cards for Christmas gifts (with a fussy Sophia on one knee) and starting the daily laundry, Ella smeared baby lotion all over the air purifier in the kids' room, filled the potty chair with water, and probably took her clothes on and off about 82 times.  I burnt the taco soup that the boys and I made this afternoon for dinner, and Sophia continued to want to be held, refusing to take a much-needed long nap.  Micah needed direction for schooling, Sammy needed help on the computer, and Sophia's nose needed constant wiping.  Sammy had a tantrum that lasted the better part of an hour, and then, Ella decided to decorate the arm of my couch with a green Crayola marker.  After dozens of comments and suggestions on Facebook (thanks, everyone!), I had the couch cleaned and was actually quite proud of myself for keeping my cool with my little Crazy.  I was just laying Sophia down for a short evening nap when I realized she felt warm.  After checking her temp, seeing a fever, and ushering my little crew to the pediatrician's office right at dinnertime, we discovered a double ear infection.  We swung through Walgreens to drop off her prescription, ran home for a quick, semi-burnt dinner of taco soup, and tucked all the kids into their beds before whipping our house into shape for our weekly small group.  

Fevers.  Doctor's Visit.  Crayola Marker.  Tantrums.  Small Group.  Dishes.  Laundry.  Sick baby.

A full day.

But mixed into this day of crazy were plenty of sweet moments together.  Like a cuddle time on the couch where we read a couple chapters of the Wizard of Oz.  A break to eat homemade brownies together in the middle of the day.  Ella and I were swapping kisses so many times that we ended up having our own little giggle-fest.  And Sophia was perfectly content to be held on her mama's hip as I went throughout my day. We sang songs at breakfast and all celebrated Sophia's first tooth starting to poke through her gums.  The boys created a world of pretend at the doctor's office while they waited patiently, and Ella was entertained by a nickel in her pocket for an unusual amount of time.

It was such a mix of the crazy and the good.

And I realized that it was so. very. normal.

Isn't that life?  A bit of crazy mixed with the good?

We go through our days, expecting everything to go smoothly and for everyone to be healthy.  At the beginning of the day, we see a list of good intentions or to-dos.  We don't plan a 45 minute tantrum.  We don't plan a double ear infection.  We don't plan a decorated-with-green couch.  And we don't plan burnt soup.  But we also can't plan the way our hearts burst with pride when we watch a son write his name for the first time.  And we can't plan how light our hearts feel when we giggle with a joyful toddler.  We can't plan a sweet, spiritual conversation with a six-year old, and we certainly cannot plan the way the day ebbs and flows with crazy and good all mingled together.

So if I had an audience today, I'm sure some would've thought my day a wee bit crazy.

But to me, it was just a normal day.

A bit of crazy mixed with the good.