Ordinary Moments

Each week, I like to reflect back on the past day's and think about the moments that made me laugh or smile, and thankful or grateful for the life I get to live. I do this, so that my focus is on these moments, instead of the shit sandwiches that get served up to me…so they don’t leave such a bad taste in my mouth. Sometimes, life is not pretty, but right smack in the middle of the unpretty, come some really great moments...moments that can get missed out on if I'm not paying attention.

Some of the highlights of my week…

The other day, little man stopped playing to come ask me why women wear bra’s. My answer led to him asking why boys don’t have breasts, which led him to ask to see my breasts. I think NOT. Ugh. Which led him to go ask his little sister to see hers which she gladly showed him. Ugh. Which led him to inform her that when she gets big, she is going to have breasts. Which led her to come tell me that she wants boobies now. Ugh. The next day, while driving in the car, he asked me why some people are horny. What the hell? Come to find out that he thinks horny is people that honk the horns of their cars. Right then, a truck honked his horn and both of the little people screamed “He’s horny!” God help me.

Where does he come up with these things? Seriously, if you were a fly on the wall, you would either be shocked or quite entertained by the conversations that take place around here. Believe me, when we have company, though it may be rare, they are always quite entertained by us. Although my oldest son, who‘s 26, calls visits to our home, good birth control.

When the little people and I get home from work and daycare(which is going rather well by the way), we start supper and then turn up the music and dance. It’s our way of transitioning back home and does a pretty good job(most of the time) of keeping the crabby’s(what I call cranky behavior) at bay. Most of the time, my husband is either not home from work yet or is, what I call a party pooper and refuses to join in. Well, one evening, this week, my husband, the party pooper actually joined in and acted like he was having a good time.

The joy on the little people’s faces as he danced with us around the house, was priceless…it was picture perfect. No, I didn’t get a photo because I was too caught up in dancing and having fun. Of course Franklin dances with us too and apparently I step on his feet a lot. And just so you know, Franklin, has adjusted quite well to living at our house, so he is here to stay.

One of the biggest highlights of the week, was having the girl I mentor, here for the weekend with us and we had a great time with her. She is such a blessing to us. She babysat the little people last night, so that we could go out to eat and to a movie. A much needed date night for my husband and I.

We went to the movie “New in Town” and the story was based on a small town(New Ulm) in Minnesota. Since we live in Minnesota, we thought it would be fun to see and it was fairly good and kind of funny…maybe we thought it was more funny because of some of the inside humor that some may not get unless they live here. I really don’t mind laughing at myself. They did capture somewhat, what life is like here in Minnesota, and while I do know that some people talk like that, I don’t think I do. On a side note, whenever I have traveled to other states, people have always guessed that I am from Minnesota…they say I have a Minnesota accent which I would have to disagree with because we don’t have accents here in Minnesota...well, at least I don't.

The highlight of my week came yesterday afternoon when I was delivered a bouquet of red, white and pink tulips with a card that said “I love you mom! From your baby boy.” These were from my youngest son, who is 19 and going to college in Florida. Totally unexpected and made my week. One of the greatest things, as a mom, has been getting to reap some of the benefits, of all the hard work I put into parenting.

It’s all these moments, most of them ordinary and nothing special to anyone but me, that keep me going every day…that make this journey so worth while. I am thankful that I recognize these moments and that they aren’t just passing me by. I am thankful for my ordinary life. I am thankful that when a shit sandwich shows up in my day, that I don't have to swallow it alone.

What keeps you going every day? Do you stop and think about the good that happened during your week? Do you see the ordinary, special moments in your life? I hope so!