The Sweet Life; 26 Years, 4 Kids, and a Whole Lot of Balls in the Air....

Today my head was spinning.

(Okay, most days my head is spinning)

Bensten had a cross country meet- he was running at around 12:30.

Lil, while away at school in North Carolina, had her first swim meet of the season and her first event was at about 12:30.

Izzy has been working crazy shifts at the hospital, so she was just getting ready for the day at 12:30.

And one of our rental properties had an insane plumbing issue this week and we had to gut the master bathroom. So go figure, the contractor chose to message me about tile choices at about 12:30.

Oh, and while Boeden was with us at the cross country meet, we had just seen a snake and I was FREAKING out and he was on snake watch for me at 12:30. (I HATE SNAKES!)

At 12:33, I was running to see Bensten at mile 1. I had a text from the contractor asking me which tile I wanted. I had a text from Lil, disappointed in her 100Breast and trying to clear her head for 200 Breast.  And Izzy was trying to head out to workout then head to the hospital and the dogs were refusing to go out- so she texted to see if it was okay to leave them.

And I honestly didn’t know which end was up. Which text to respond to first. Could I maybe just focus on the present and see Bensten run? 

I think today was PARENTING IN A NUTSHELL. There are always so many balls in the air. Which ball is most important? Which ball can hit the ground, but still bounce back?  I will be honest, I have 23 years of experience with this parenting gig, and I am still as clueless as I was on day 1. I love these 4 humans so dang much. And I think I love them more and more, so the thought of letting any of them “drop” pains me. 

Suffice to say Lil’s friends and coaches talked her down and she killed the 200 Breast.

Izzy accepted that our dogs are lazy, and would be fine to hang til we got home from the meet.

I picked the most durable tile and hoped it was within budget.

And seeing Bensten fly past us made me totally forget about snakes. He was on fire today!

I got home from the meet- and was exhausted - which is soooo pathetic cause the Oatlands course is HARD. I was simply a spectator, and yet I was wiped out! I think the emotion of being a mom is NO JOKE. 

So this is a quick shout out to every mom out there. I know it doesn’t always feel like we are doing our best work- but I am pretty sure there is no harder job. I am grateful for all the great moms I know! And all the moms that have picked up the balls that I have dropped over the years. And, I am incredibly proud of all my kids for what they do every day. I could never be a nurse. I could never be a collegiate swimmer. I could never be a competitive runner. So I am very grateful that despite all my shortcomings as a mom- my kids are doing awesome.

And a quick shout out to my better half who made me a mom to these amazing 4 humans. This week is our 26th anniversary. Lance has to travel for work (though he actually offered to miss the meeting since he knew it was our anniversary). I am so lucky to have him as my rock. He puts up with a lot. I am grateful for the life we have created, including this little bakery! Here’s to another week of craziness. Pretty sure anything but crazy would be boring!

Xo,

Heather

The chaos is REAL. Bensten had a team building activity in Fairfax. So lance and I hit Restaurant Depot, Costco and Merrifield while he was there. We barely had room for Bensten and Emma on the return trip- and I need a cup of coffee!

Have a great week!