One of those days

Today was one of those days. As I reflect on it, I am reminded of how much our actions and attitudes impact other people and the need to pay close attention to my own.

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and the air was a delightful 60+ degrees. Sebastian had therapy today and they were very pleased with the progress he is making. He played well in spite of his emerging second tooth and swollen gums. We had friends come over to play and have lunch, accomplished our school work which included the twins playing their guitar exercises for their friends without any prompting, and I fit in a load or two of laundry in the mountain that never seems to get smaller. (Now there are two mountains-one of still needing to be washed clothes, and one of clean clothes needing to be put away). All was going smoothly until time to get ready to go to the library and one child decided to play instead of hunt for socks–which admittedly is a chore since they were all located in one of the two mountains, though no attempt was made. The dark clouds started to roll in, a bit of rain fell, but a sunny disposition returned and off we were to go to the library–except the car wouldn’t start. This really wasn’t a big deal. Since it was a beautiful day I decided we’d just play for a while in the yard, but the sock child didn’t want to get out of the van. He wanted to play in his seat. I’m not really sure why I didn’t grant this request–after all, practicing buckling and unbuckling the seat is a valuable skill to both of us. But I didn’t, so out he came, with distant thunder but no storm. After a bit of charging the van regained its life and off we went–to a closed library taking a day off due to budget constraints. We went to a play ground instead and had a merry time until the locked bathrooms forced us to return home, thankfully without any accidents. We had a snack, rest time was announced, and the sky suddenly grew black and opened up. The sock child, having lost a much desired toy in the sock incident, was greatly displeased over both rest time and the lost toy and commenced an hour of rebellion that no intervention seemed to make an impact on. After a time he cooled off and acted as if nothing had happened. And this to me was a terrible thing, because I had to begin again to bring the heart and behavior back into the light to deal with (and I really didn’t want to). He did eventually willingly accept the consequence, and I did get an apology and request for forgiveness. When I told him he was forgiven he stood there a bit and then asked, “What now?”  Now we move on, but we still have to live with the consequences. Another good reminder.

Thanks to my friends for their words of wisdom and encouragement today, and to Adam who gave me a much needed break and had all our children tucked in when I came home. And to my son who caused this stormy day, I love you dearly, even when you don’t like me, and I know I’ve probably given you stormy days as well.  May we grow in grace and love, in gratitude, and in respect for others, and may tomorrow be less stormy for both of us!