Mommy's Monday Morning

It's early Monday morning and the mother planned her day in her head. Every Monday her two toddlers are at home all day, but on this particular Monday she decided to change the schedule a little. The little ones – ages 19 months and 2 (just two months shy of 3) had been in the house all weekend and she knew their energy needed to be expended.

Normally, Monday's schedule went like this:

7:30 a.m. – teenager leaves to catch bus

7:45 a.m. – mommy has breakfast with toddlers

8:00 – 9:30 – TV. time (Sesame Street; It's a Big, Big World; Barney…), play time and daddy leaves for work

9:30 – 10:30 – mommy and babies get dressed, mommy cleans/straightens living room

11:00 – 12:00 – 2-year-old has speech therapy

12:15 p.m. – mommy and babies eat lunch

1:00 – 3:30 p.m. – nap time (if mommy is lucky, if not they just sleep an hour)

2 p.m. – Watch Passions, nap, housework or contract work (mommy also works from home)

This Monday, instead of just waiting for the speech therapist to arrive, the trio went outside. This should surely keep them occupied and quiet for the next hour, she thought. The mother lugged the double stroller from the back of the mini van and plopped the two willing toddlers into it. She began their stroll.

As she looked around her not-so-nice neighbor, she began to second guess her outing. "Hopefully we won't see any stray or loose dogs today," she thought. "I should have brought my walking stick." She eased the stroller as far to the curb as she could as a speeding car whipped by. Now she was thinking about the cars that had slid around the curb and into her yard.

"My husband will kill me if we get hit by a car," she thought.

She looked around spotting a couple of cats sitting in the yard. "Do you see the cats?" she asked her 2-year-old.

"Cat." He said, looking around. Upon spotting the cat he just stared. They moved on.

Instead of walking around the block, the mother made a "u turn" and returned to the house.

"How about I get your shoes, socks and a ball and you guys can play in the yard while we wait for the speech therapist?"

"Shoes?" asked the 2 year old.

"Shoes?" the 1 year old repeated.

"Yes," the mother said.

"Red ball?"

"Well, the red ball is dirty in the backyard. What about the white and yellow ball inside?"

"White and yellow ball?"

"Yes. Do you want to play outside?"

"Outside."

Well, of course, that settled it. The mother and toddlers would stay outside enjoying the mid-morning sun and catching a bit of fresh air. What she didn't anticipate was her toddlers' ability to talk to her incessantly. They didn't just want to play, they wanted to talk to her about everything they saw and did.

"Dirty?"

"Ant?"

"Bug?"

"I see it."

"Mommy."

"Mommy."

"Mommy."

How many times did she have to say: "Yes?" "Go play." "Throw the ball to your sister." "Come over here." "Get from behind there" "Stand up." "Get up." "Don't do that."…

Aargh! The mother thought.

She looked up into the trees and the clear blue sky beyond and thought, "Am I too old to have such young children?" She pondered for a moment. "Well, they'll keep me young and it's too late to think about that now," she thought, trying to remain positive. She mistakenly had assumed that being outside would somehow give her a break from the demands of toddlers.

Instead of just sitting and watching the children, she had an idea: She would get her laptop. "I love to write while I sit outdoors," she thought. "That will surely keep my temper in check while the children play and we wait for the speech therapist."

At first it didn't seem to work; her temper flared, her voice raised and she sighed. "Why can't you guys just listen?" But before long everyone found their rhythm. The children played; the mommy watched and typed while she enjoyed the birds, the air and the trees.

And before long they spotted the speech therapist's car pulling into the driveway.

The children jumped with excitement and the mother smiled and sighed. She wasn't ready to venture inside, but the rest of their day must go on. She watched the children meet and greet the speech therapist.

"It won't be long before they're grown and I'll wonder where the time went," she thought. With one child only two and a half years from graduating from college, she thought that maybe she should appreciate the time she has with her children and not let her temper get the best of her.

"They're just babies," she said to herself as she watched them run into the house. She sat down on the couch to finish writing the story she had started: Children Are God's Blessings.

There's nothing like a reality check to make us realize the blessing in it.