Last week I was all prepared to do a “day in the life” post, where I would show pictures of what a typical day looks like in the Rushed Mommy household. Unfortunately, right off the bat, I realized that my heart was not in the right place. When I should be taking this as a chance to share our day with my readers in a reality-TV sort of way, I could see my inner desires pushing me to making it into a “look how hard my life is” kind of thing. Who wants to read that sort of stuff? Not me! And I’m sure you don’t want to read about it either. So instead of sharing the whole day (you can thank me now because it was a long one!), I decided instead to share with you the times when I realized how truly blessed I am.
Turning grouchiness into gratitude: Mornings are hard but things could be a lot worse
Even though it put me behind a little bit, I left for work fully prepared with everything the little guys would need for after daycare. I made their fave pasta and even snuck in some whole-wheat noodles to make it a tad bit healthier. I sorted through all of our “pouches” for three of the flavor that they love. I brought along a big jug of milk and some sippy cups so they’d have something to eat and drink later that evening at their brother’s baseball game. And, as a last-minute thought, I threw a big playground ball in my bag so they’d also have something to play with.
This all went with me to work. It included my breakfast, plus a bunch of snacks for the little guys!
I’m pretty lucky because, since I leave for work before daycare opens, I don’t have to get all the kids ready and out the door in the morning. Daddy gets to do all that.
PLUS I went through Starbucks and got a special treat just for me. 😉
Work is crazy but I am appreciated
The Mother’s Day craft my class made for their moms
From then on it was easy to keep the positivity going.
At lunch the PTO had planned a decadent catered meal for the entire staff (secretaries and supervision aides included) in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week. They laid out a beautiful table and gave us each a canvas bag with “It takes a big heart to teach little minds” printed on the back, plus several other goodies. By the end of lunch we all felt refreshed, happy, and best of all FULL!
After work it took TWO trips to get all my teacher appreciation gifts and flowers into the car. No joke! I drove back to our hometown, grabbed the little guys from daycare and the oldest from home, and we all piled in the car to go to Logan’s out-of-town baseball game. And, let me tell you, he rocked it. He got a hit every at-bat and, even though his team lost, they are all a bunch of great kids and their spirits were high the whole game. It was a lot of fun to watch them play.
Baby John Cheering on his big brother
Evening activities give me more time to enjoy with my kids
The little guys loved the pouches and pasta. I had a deeeelicious Yerba Mate tea in the car, which gave me the energy I needed to keep up with everyone. The girls found a friend in a sweet, sweet girl who is about 7 or 8 years old. The three of them played the whole time and I got to spend most of the game cuddling and playing with Baby John. On the way home I got Logan a hamburger, which he was stoked about because we never eat out. I enjoyed leftovers on the couch with a glass of wine once everyone was in bed.
With that, Thursday came to a close.
I’m really glad I didn’t do a “day in the life” post after all. I don’t think that kind of sharing is good for me because I already struggle with putting a positive spin on things. I want to encourage you, the next time you feel that your thoughts are going down a negative path, to find 3 things to be thankful for. It’s amazing the change you will feel when your start turning grouchiness into gratitude.
