A Mother’s Day Well-Lived
I’d been in a funk with a capital F the past few weeks and the mundane of life was getting to me. ?So when I woke up yesterday and Mr YT asked what I wanted to do that day I said, “Maybe take a road trip. ?Or go for a walk.” ?”You don’t want to just rest or get out alone?” ?He asked a little bewildered. ?”I don’t know…let me think about it.”
The sun was shining and the post-church nap by Miss C was complete so we loaded up for a?drive. ?There is a small Ohio town we wanted to check out (more on that, later) so we headed an hour away and promised the kids ice cream and a park if they took the drive with ease.
We found a McDonalds – not a hard feat- and gave the kids the joy of eating inside. ?I laughed to Brian that our kids were more excited to eat inside at the McDonalds of small-town Ohio than they were to go to Australia (notevenkiddingonebit). ?Then we found a park and the kids enjoyed all the new slides and swings and playground equipment they’d never been on before.
We left the park with smiling, wind-blown faces.
“I mother better when I’m out of the house,” I said to Brian.
I’ve joked with friends that most days I would consider it easier to put my kids on an airplane than get them all ready and through the doors at the Y. ?It’s easier for me to do something different than to do something typical. ? ?Going places- seeing new things and new faces, is what fills my cup.
Beyond that, the kids were different, too. ?They were on an adventure with mom and dad.
Somedays I’m so worried about “using my time well” that I forget that the time I have is meant for living.
My?family took a Sunday drive most spring/summer Sunday afternoons. ?I always thought this was an excuse for my parents to look at used cars and get ice cream (ha!) but I realize now it was more about changing life up a little, finding something new, getting out of our comfort zone, maybe having a conversation without TV and cassettes (hey, 1990) competing for our attention. ?Oh, yeah, and Mom & Dad wanted ice cream.
I’m thankful for these kids, for the sleepless nights, for the early mornings, for the long days indoors and the adventures far away. ?They’ve taught me so much. ?They make me die a little bit to self every day. ?I hope for so much for them- in?the least that they continue to let me take them along on excursions- big and small.
xo