This week as “Mom”…

i have been a teacher, a mediator, a jungle gym, a protector against flying saucers, and a rebel who got in trouble with the school principle…
and I did it all with out a major “Mommy” meltdown.  Go Me.
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this week i protected our wee babs from a flying saucer.

we were at the park after school with some friends.  we were having fun, doing the normal thing we do at the park… play.  when all of a sudden i see a flying saucer heading right toward us!

actually, it was a trash can lid.  but this wasn’t just your normal household sized trash can lid.  this was a huge industrial sized trash can lid.  which is usually attached the to the trash can by a metal wire.  but it had broken off and this day was extremely windy.

so i saw it coming our way.  i didn’t freak out.  i remained calm.  i assessed where all three wee babs were and made sure they were out of harms way.  i briefly thought about jumping in front of the lid to stop it, but changed my mind when i briefly panicked about it knocking me over.  it ended up flying right past me, into the jungle gym equipment, thankfully avoiding any human contact.  when the lid finally came to a hault, i proceeded to pick it up and put it back on the trash can, hoping no more wind gusts would cause a repeat of the crazy experience we just had.  Whew.  Go Me.
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this week i have been a teacher.  well, every moment i am a teacher.  but this week has had even more teaching moments.  i treasure these times to teach our wee babs.  they are sponges, soaking up information faster than my coffee is brewed.  i have to be a quick thinker as a mommy teacher.  they are learning so much about the world; and in this global internet age, there is so much to “learn”. but….

we don’t want them to just be “informed”…

we pray, hope and teach them to be transformed.  in Christ likeness.  at home. at school. with their friends. everywhere they go and with everyone they meet. these are my absolute favorite teaching moments.  Go Us + God.
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this week i have been a mediator.  this is nothing new.  sometimes the wee babs fight with one another and i have to break it up.  sometimes i make things worse and can’t control my own temper, end up having a “mommy meltdown”, and cause additional stress to the situation.

friday morning i slept in.  until 8:30am.  i consider this a miracle.  the wee babs were watching their favorite cartoons “Martha” & “George” and i never heard a peep out of them.  after i woke up, things changed.

as i was busy preparing breakfast, prepping school clothes, packing lunch and perusing facebook… the peace crumbled.  the storm brewed.  and all hell broke loose.

Soleil’s shirt wasn’t clean.  the shirt she had planned all week to wear.  the shirt her bff was also going to wear, so they could be twins on this last day of school before spring break.  the shirt i knew about but which was at the bottom of the laundry bin, so it was too stinky to “air out” and had to be washed.  meanwhile, Salem melted down when Selah started playing with his playmobile toys.  both of them proceeded to go back and forth fighting and crying for the next hour about i’m not sure what, and i remained calm.

i mediated their fights and tears in between doing a quick load of laundry, finishing making breakfast (homemade waffles-btw), lunch prep, changing a diaper, sending a few texts and quick facebook check.  and i remained calm. another miracle.

Soleil went to school wearing a slightly damp shirt and a great attitude about it.  i mediated successfully with the other two wee babs and avoided a “mommy meltdown”.  Go Me.
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this week i was a rebel…

because of the miracle i experienced friday morning, the one when i slept in until 8:30a.m., i was running super late to get Soleil to school on time.  shocker.

so i took her to the back of the school building to drop her off.  it’s closer to her classroom.  and we were running super late.

i know i’m not supposed to drop her off back there.  i know it’s considered a safety issue.  i know it’s for buses only. blah blah blah.  i’ve been told this information before. and 99.9% of the time, i drop her off in the proper place at the front of the school where all the other parents drop off their kids.  but somedays i don’t follow rules very well.  and friday i was a rebel.

about an hour later i got a phone call.  from the school principle.  i got called out on my rebellion.  the principle said, “it has been brought to my attention that Soleil is being dropped off in the back. this is the area for buses only.” i listened respectfully, meanwhile thinking “you recognize my van? my awesome 1997 taupe honda odyssey with the sun roof?  wait… am i going to get a detention for this?”

i continued listening and responded “i understand”.  but this wasn’t the first time i dropped her off in the back, and if i’m a rebel again, it won’t be the last…

either way the principle was doing her job.  and i appreciate that.  at the same time, i was doing my job as Mom.  Go Me.
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as Moms, we never know what “flying saucers” will come our way each week.  we have to be quick thinking teachers, patient mediators, flexible jungle gyms, brave protectors and yes… sometimes even rebels.
Go Moms.