War

This morning the alarm woke me up. No, not my children, but an NPR interview with the new general. General McChrystal. I lay there, still fuzzy with sleep, trying to make sense of what I was hearing. And for some reason, through the fog, this exchange of information spoke to me. During the night, Cylas ran into our room and was snuggling on D's side of the bed and early this morning Roma woke up and wanted to be fed so I just left her in bed on my side. With my two children within arms reach and my husband snoring soundly, I couldn't help but think that I have a huge responsiblity to raise my children in this war zone of life. Honestly. Deep thinking for 7:30 am. But I promise that this was all going through my head with rapid clarity. The responsibilities I have as a parent require me to tacticly out maneuver what ever enemy might be seeking out my children. One quote from the general spoke to me. When asked how his method was different from the past generals he said, " You have take to away what the insurgents want most. Access to the people". Then he framed this with his thoughts on how to accomplish this. He said to "arm the people" with knowledge on how to protect themselves. Give them something to want to protect. Amidst my thoughts, I'm laughing at myself for being so literal this early in the morning, but laughing at my inner monologue did not stop me from thinking. And I still agree with myself when I say that raising my children to be armed with knowledge, wisdom and a deep love for God is the most difficult task I've ever set my foot to.

Picnic in the van

I'm sure all mothers can relate with this especially mothers with two or more children. How many times have you started your day with the determination to be out before lunch time. I usually aim for 10am. It's not too early and it gives me enough time to run around while Roma is sleeping and Cylas is still full from breakfast. But somehow one o'clock rolls around and I'm STILL flitting around the house. It's a gogeous day and I really want to take the kids out for a little picnic after a quick stop at the library to get some books. But...
My day: Roma naps while I try to get us on the road but before I can load her into the van Cylas decides that it's time to poop. Thankfully I bathed them both this morning so a quick wipe down should be good. I'm hurrying all the while thankful I managed to get a shower and make our bed. But in spite of my frantic cleaning, the house looks a little worn out because Cylas dragged all of his bed covers and several HUNDRED stuffed animals all through the house, leaving the mass of them on our bed. And where did the ants come from? Why do I have ants crawling all over my kitchen? The dishes were done, the floor was mopped and I'm fighting a small army with soap and scrubbie. Ick. Ick. Sitting in the cool library never sounded so good. But how to get out of the house. I just want to be around people. So, now, the little munchkins are piled in the van and I'm proud of myself because I've packed a lunch for Cylas, but now I'm hungry. No time to eat. I need to get going before it's HIS nap time. I make it to the library only to find out that my card has an ASTRONOMICAL fine and I can't check out any books! So, to make my harried day a little more interesting I'm on library card probation. Yeah, the young mother of two can't even drag herself to the library to keep up with the due dates. And I'm still hungry. *sigh* Good thing I packed Cylas a tuna sandwich with goldfishes and a banana. I think I'm going to get Taco Bell and sit in the van for our picnic.