Calm

For the last 6 years, I have either been pregnant or with a young baby. This time last year, I was very pregnant and begging my doctor to take this baby EARLY, when I still had several weeks left. It seemed we could never go forward in our lives because we were always starting over with a new baby.

But more often these days, even in the midst of complete and utter chaos, I get the occasional feeling of calmness, because we are moving forward. No more babies to start over with; no more pregnant days. Ever. And I'm really glad for it, too. I am definitely not a person who enjoys being pregnant, and that is an understatement.

I am really enjoying the fact that the kids are getting older even though I feel like I manage them relatively well at home. I really don't like to take them all anywhere all together, even though it can be done. At this point in time, I have 2 kids with strep throat and raging fevers. Trying to keep them separate from the "well" group, while taking care of them, is rather difficult. I feel like I'm going from one fire to the next. As I sit here, it's nearly noon and lunch will be required soon, I am committed to make a lasagna today for a family who has recently experienced a devastating loss, the kitchen needs to be cleaned up from dinner last night [must be done before I can cook a single thing!], and I have a 4-page layout that must be completed for my scrapbooking class on Friday. Oh, and laundry. The ever-constant. It seems the idea of keeping the house clean is a complete joke. I am too busy keeping children alive.

To add to my list, I'm in training for the 3-Day in November and will begin my internship for the ombudsman program next week. I have quilting projects I'd like to work on and perhaps even finish(!), and I'm coming into the phase of my life where I might like to enjoy my family, instead of feeling worked to death...

And I honestly think it's completely due to my knowledge that the baby train is an idea whose time has come. And I am relieved.