Sighing

There are two moments in the day when I sigh that deep sigh of relief mixed with exhaustion... The first moment comes around 3:30 in the afternoon when I'm just about to lay down to rest/nap. I've been going hard all morning, preparing 2 meals (simple though they are), cleaning up after those meals, teaching Kindergarten, protecting Micah from imminent danger (i.e. his older brothers), breaking up spats, training my boys in the way they should go, doing special Luke-school time, sometimes preparing things for supper, etc., etc. You get the picture. Then around 3:00, it's time for Micah's afternoon nap. After he goes down, it's time for Luke's "rest time". Sometimes he sleeps, sometimes he just looks at books in his bed. I get Joshua settled playing his computer learning games so that I can finally get to that wonderful moment. I go to my room, close the door, set my alarm for about 20 minutes, snuggle under the covers, put on my headphones playing lovely piano music, and the sigh inevitably escapes my lips. It's only 20-30 minutes of peace and quiet (well, most of the time), but it is a beautiful part of my day. And it helps me get geared up for everything else that comes after it. Now, to be honest, even when I do get a good nap in, it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm #1 mommy all evening. In fact, there are often days when I can't wait for Daddy to get home from work so he can take over things with the boys, particularly training responsibilities. You know, there are some days when patience seems to abound, and there are days when it's not so much. But I digress... The 2nd sighing moment happens around 8:45 or 9:00 when we've finished family devotions and the boys are all down in their beds. Daddy comes back into the room and we just look at each other like, "Wow, I'm exhausted, how about you?" Raising 3 little ones will always generate such a response, trust me. By this time of the day it's really hard to be motivated to get anything else done that day. Unfortunately it's about the only time we can get any tasks done, so we press on. That is, on the days when we can push ourselves to do anything. :o) There are the evenings when we just watch Cosby Show episodes (we own all 8 seasons), then go to bed. All in a day's work of being a mommy, I guess... I wouldn't trade it for anything else in all the world!