November 5, 2012

• {wrinkles. two year olds. and romeo and juliet}
  
  i’m sitting at starbucks with kate while she works on an essay that’s due tomorrow.
  we’re at a little round table in the corner. our computers back to back.
  she needed a quieter place to think tonight and our house wasn’t it.

  it seems there’s always a certain energy level around our place that borders somewhere between fun and sheer chaos!
  having a dad that’s a big kid at heart and loves a good wrestling match and pillow fight as much as the rest, might have something to do with it too!!
  and maybe the fact that at any given time there’s 2 or 3 kids there that aren’t our own..
  and we’re never really sure where they come from or how long they’ve been there!

  i rather like the cozy busyness of it all.
  but not when 10th grade girls are stressed and trying to write essay’s.

  
  
  
  first red cup of the season!
   
  kate’s writing her essay on romeo and juliet.
  which led us to an interesting conversation on the way in about dating..
  and just keeping a healthy balance in your friendships with guys you’re not dating, and have no intention to.

  i was raised with the whole “courtship” teaching.. where it was almost considered wrong to even be friends with a boy because it might lead to something more. and though i agree with the underlying principle courtship presented of purity, and even waiting until you were older and a bit more mature before entering into serious dating relationships, i do think there’s a way for our teenagers to focus on God, remain pure, AND have healthy friendships with guys/ girls without having to name it anything or start a movement!~

  i used to wonder instead of encouraging kids to be, “committed to courtship.” 
  why not just, “committed to Christ?”

  and yes. all that from a conversation about romeo and juliet!

  ****

  this morning i woke to a toddler holding a squished little debbie snack cake in her hands.

  “open. pease. mommy!”

  followed soon after by a crying seven year old from an infected ear from her earring!
  i felt so bad for her. and went into full “operation” mode. remember that game??
  do not touch ear. touch sides of ear. and whatever you do, do not touch the earring!!! {said the seven year old}.

  and while doctor mom is attempting the impossible, the hungry toddler is happily getting her own breakfast..
  giving up on trying to open the squished little debbie snack cake and on to the box of mini wheats.
  dumping the entire contents out all over the kitchen floor- why bother with a bowl and spoon? 
  which would happen two more times { i really need to move those boxes higher}.
  and all before EIGHTO’CLOCKINTHEMORNING !!!

  
  my day long turned week long project of organizing the girls clothes! reese was having fun trying on all the stuff..
  
  after eight. it was other things like lipstick behind the couch.
  teddy in the toilet – because apparently, he’s getting potty trained!
  and when there was a space of time when she had been quiet and out of sight for far too long, i called her name from upstairs…
   
  peering down over the balcony at the top she peered back up at me with a black smeary face.
  going down to check it out i discovered she’d climbed up on the counter and gotten the pan of brownies we had last night when company was over..
  half the pan already eaten, the rest scattered all over the family room!

  and if you’re thinking, feed the kid already!
  this was after her breakfast of a bagel. yogurt and raspberries.

  and so the day went.
  and i felt exhausted and ready for bed by NINE {a.m.}!!

  at one point i sat down between the clean ups and turned on the t.v.
  i’m not even sure what show it was but they were talking about ways women could avoid wrinkles.
  {i sent reese to finish the rest of the brownies so i could really pay attention!}

  but after a few things in, like, getting eight hours of sleep at night..
  and when you do, not laying on your side or stomach.
  who knew sleeping comfortably created wrinkles!!
  and try using less expression. “don’t smile as big!”
  and oh, at all times be conscious of your face, “try to keep it relaxed as possible.” 

  did none of these women talking ever have a two year old!!
  how are you supposed to see them practically sitting in the middle of a brownie pan and keep your face relaxed and expressionless?!

  after a few more minutes i clicked it off and went to get ready for the day.

  
  shopping trip w. the girls a while back. love their faces!
  
  of course after hearing that, i found myself leaning in closer to the mirror for a more careful inspection of all those expressions and improper sleeping methods from the past 38 years!  

  i raised my eyebrows up and down a few times.
  patted them. pulled them down.
  smiled really big. then frowned.
  practiced my closed mouth smile.. which doesn’t work for me.
  shayne says i just end up looking angry.
  he’s right.

  later in the afternoon while driving somewhere..with taylor swift’s new song that i’ve heard 500 times in the past two weeks blaring over the radio -{now there’s someone who could use a little courtship theory in her life!} i glanced up in the mirror at my tired mommy eyes… catching as i did the static haired little brownie swiper in the carseat behind me.

  pulling my sunglasses down i thought to myself, sure. there are more wrinkles than there used to be.
  more coming every day.

  but. if they represent the number of times i’ve smiled. expressed love. been emotional. passionate. laughed..

  if i fall into bed each night exhausted and could care less if i sleep on my side, my stomach, or straight up on my head because i’ve served and cared for others. played hard and gave hard. lived full..

  if my kids have good memories..
  if they remember a mom who was more relaxed in spirit, over a relaxed unsmiling face..

  if these are the things that “make wrinkles?”
  well then, i’m glad to see them there!

  

  “When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day.”

  amber.

  • 11:36 pm
  • 44 Comments