Leisure Learnings

On Sunday, Andrew, Phin and Liam left with Uncle Moose (Gary) for PA. Gary was going to get a car from CMTS… ah. Superfluous details. Anyway, we three girls stayed at home. Lydia was her usual self – nursing, grinning, sleeping – except now she has a swing! She would stay in that all day, if we let her. So, while Lydia sat happily in her swing, Abigail and I had a fun ‘girls night.’ First, we made applesauce. We have a wild apple tree that made the thickest sauce I’ve ever made! After the applesauce was set to simmer down, we read from The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. For once our reading was uninterrupted! Then, I taught Abigail how to play checkers. She quickly figured out how to move her pieces but she severely lacked any strategy. She kept moving her pieces perfectly for me to jump them! “Go ahead,” she’d say. “Jump my guy! I like it when they jump!” Oh well. Her competitive spirit was dormant for once.

For supper we had peanut butter popcorn and ice cream. We played some more checkers and then read some more from ‘the Laura book’. We ignored the laundry that needs to be folded and went to bed leisurely and happily.

On Monday morning we slept in. Til 8:30! Wow! Luxury! We had spiced chai, eggs and toast for breakfast, the read some more Laura. We did some fun art projects, getting ready for Liam’s birthday, then had a picnic lunch in the living room. Then we went out and spent the afternoon mowing the lawn.

Anyway, I learned a bit while it was just me and the girls. I learned that it is relatively easy to be a mama to just one child that is walking and talking. First, the energy level in the house was… pleasant! Not chaotic. Now, know that I enjoy the chaos most of the time. But it sure makes my brain fog up. So, with the reduced noise level I was able to converse more freely with Abigail (which is the second thing I noticed.) Third, I still got irritated. That just goes to show that contentment, or irritability, is not a product of circumstances. Yeah, I know. We’ve all been told that. But I have to admit that often I had wondered. Well, now I know. The work that only the Holy Spirit can do still needs to be done in me. In relation to this third thing I learned, the fourth is this: it is easier to take thoughts captive, yield to the Holy Spirit, correct my attitude, etc. when it was just me and Abbi (and little Lilly.) Why? Because as I would pause to turn my eyes on Jesus I didn’t get distracted by: taking someone to the bathroom, redirecting an older child, exhorting someone to kindness, teaching two children how to socially interact, training for the same behavior that we’ve been working on for weeks, trying to understand what my almost two year-old is trying to say, and on and on the list can go!

So here I am Tuesday morning, very thankful for some good lessons learned. It was fun to have a leisure break, but I sure missed my boys (and their handsome father!). I welcome back the chaos with all the hugs and kisses, all the requests for “up,” all the re-readings of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?, all the humming, singing, kazoo noise, laughter, and yes, even the minor conflicts. I rejoice to know that there is One that I can turn to – even if I only have a split second – that is ready to answer my prayer, that is ready to fill me with His Holy Spirit that I may bear the fruit of the Spirit and give them to my children. I know that I know that I know that I couldn’t do this wondrous thing called motherhood without Him!