Musings of a Mom

Well, Hailey is still doing well today. She does seem to have some symptoms of withdrawal from some of the medications they have been giving her (sweating, vomiting, etc.) but she is still making slow steady forward progress.

It has been so wonderful to have Ben and the girls here. Ben spent nearly all day at the hospital with Hailey just holding her, which I think is so sweet and wonderful. He is such a good dad.  The girls and I just snuggled and watched cartoons this morning, ran some errands, napped, and did crafts.  We did take the girls to a children's theater performance of "Sleeping Beauty" tonight.  It was a really cute outdoor show where we sat on picnic blankets and watched the show a mere 5 feet from the stage.  The girls loved it!  If Hailey had been able to be there, it would have been absolutely perfect!!!

I was watching the girls after they fell asleep today and just pondering my role as a mom.  I think I used to feel like I wasn't really accomplishing anything during the day. I would clean the house and at the end of the day, it was dirty. I did laundry and the next day there was another pile waiting for me.  It feels like an endless whirlwhind of things that need to be done over and over.  And, in all the chaos, it was easy to lose sight of what I was really doing---or what I really do as a mom.  Being a mom isn't washing clothes or cooking and cleaning any more than being a surgeon is making incisions and stitching them up again. Yes, we do those things, and they are part of the job, but what we are really doing is not just keeping house. It is raising the next generation, being there for someone that needs you and trusts you.  It is so much more than the mundane. 

The glorious bigger picture becomes a lot more obvious to me as the craziness of the past year boils away the excess and leaves just the things that matter most.  I am not particularly good at stopping and smelling the roses, but this has been a chance for me to remember to do it!  I long for the normal "boring" everyday of having all my kids at home and just playing in the back yard or heading off to the library.  Being a mom is not easy, but it is so worth it!!

I am sure there are lots of ways that I have needed to grow from all these experiences. Considering all that has happened in the last year, it is obvious there was some room for drastic improvement in my life ;-) But, all joking aside, it is teaching me where my priorities ought to be. 

Anyway, sorry to go on and on--like I said musings of mom, but just some things that have been on my mind. 

Love you all and are so grateful for your prayers and support.  This has been such a long road and we wouldn't make it without you all!!