I know it has been a long while since I posted last...for some reason I keep telling myself that I need to post pictures and then I think about needing to resize them so they load faster and then I just don't post...oh well!
This has been a very busy summer. Our trip to GA was amazingly fun and then we went right into swimming lessons. For some reason when my morning routine is messed with the whole rest of the day gets thrown out of whack...so with 3 weeks of swimming lessons done and one more to go I feel like most of my days have been spent playing catch up!
After the first couple of weeks I was trying to figure out why just getting through the daily chores and stuff was continually SO hard...then it dawned on me that this is my very first summer with 5 kids all at home ALL day long! I decided I needed to cut myself a little slack and just let some of the guilt go! (maybe I am the only one that feels guilty when I watch my husband dig through a basket of dirty laundry smelling for clothes that might be re wearable!) ; ) Oh well...I am slowly learning that a mother of 5 needs to let things go a little to keep sane. So the house isn't as clean as I would like it...clothes don't always get folded, but at least they are clean, dishes may sit in the sink an extra day (or 4...I usually draw the line when strange stinks start coming from the sink), but that is okay. I enjoy having all of my kids home with no schedule to keep except the one we create.
Summer should be a magical time for kids. I remember playing in the field at the end of my childhood street for hours. Making huts and playing tag. Coming home for a quick lunch and a quick dinner and then heading back out until my mom yelled from the front porch that it was time to come in. Now I can't say that I feel comfortable with my kids running around the neighborhood, but as I watched Noah and Zach playing in the murky muddy wet lands behind our house I had the quick thought, "Good, that is what summer is all about!" Getting dirty, being creative, making memories.
I have tried to sit and enjoy an extra 2 minutes when my impulse is to hop up and wash something. Hug a few seconds longer, ponder a few minutes longer, keep my eyes closed for a few seconds longer...
So my advice with some summer left to enjoy is to let the guilt go...just let it GO! Enjoy the rhythm of your family's summer with out the guilt of what is not getting done!
4 months ago
3 comments:
This is how our summer is as well. One of my neighbors who has 2 little ones asked how I do it with 4. I told her and I just have to let a lot of things go. My kids don't always look as perfect as I'd like on Sundays. They wear cut off jeans for summer shorts (instead of me getting around to hemming them or something). My dishes aren't always done. Our laundry becomes a huge mountain. And although we're working on training tots to work, that summer time play is so important. Anyhoo... i liked how you worded it all. I'm on partial bedrest with #5 and so I've had to let so much go and try not to worry. Sigh... Have a fun rest of the summer. Oh - by the way... we love Stone Mountain! My husband grew up in Georgia so we've been back and seen some of the sites. How fun that you got to go!
Totally agree:) I am trying not to cringe at the unruliness that summer spreads all over my house and just enjoy the kiddos while they are home. Let them play and get dirty and not worry so much about "the list". Hang in there! 5 gets much easier when the youngest is older than 3:)
I must say you are a talented writer! But really Heather, your home isn't as bad as you make it sound! Keep up the good work!
Post a Comment