Some Days Are Tough

     Why is it always that the days that I’ve gotten little to no sleep are the days when everything else goes off kilter? It’s my own fault, really- the no sleep part, I mean. We ran out of decaf coffee yesterday, so I proceeded to drink regular All. Day. Long. So I guess I was asking for it when the baby awoke at 3:20 am, and I was never able to fall back asleep.
     The day didn’t start off so bad, really. Ireland (3) was awake at the crack of dawn, as usual. She wasn’t particularly crabby, so we just cuddled and watched TV until the other early risers filed downstairs.
     Breakfast came and went with no particular problems, but that’s pretty much when the peace ended. Sometimes I think that the kids pick the days when I’m obviously exhausted to pick fights and bicker the most.
     Little spats over sharing play dough colors, copycatting, and name-calling ensued. The baby was crabby because she’s teething, and I just couldn’t seem to get the house in order. I was still jumpy from the caffeine overload yesterday, but I managed to get through the morning in one piece without having a meltdown.
     Finally, things seemed to calm down. It was a beautiful day, so the kids went outside to play while I got some much needed quiet. Until our oldest son, Brendan, stopped by unexpectedly. That’s when everything fell apart.
     As I mentioned in another post, Brendan is a 5 yr. old trapped in a 20 yr. old’s body. He has a gift of getting the kids wound up more than anything else can. I had little ones running through the house and jumping on him, kids being flipped over his shoulders, and the noise. The noise. And while all this was going on, I was on the phone with his bank to sort out an issue with a missing debit card. (Hence, the reason for his visit.)
     After he left, and the kids calmed down, I was more at peace than I had been all day. Sure, the family reading didn’t get done today, and we didn’t get to plot various countries on a map that we had planned to do. The house was a bit messy, and my husband was due to be home soon, but that was okay because I realized something today. If every day were perfect, we might overlook little blessings like these-

Little blessings that happened amidst the chaos of the day.
     If every day were beautiful, would we see the beauty in each day?

What blessings have you encountered today?

Linking up with
A Mama’s Story

Raising Homemakers

http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/2014/01/wise-woman-linkup_15.html?m=1

http://www.joyfocusedlearning.com/2014/01/anything-goes-link-up-10.html?m=1