Once Upon A Time. . .
I was a day care provider! And that experience changed my life, forever.
I was a day care provider! And that experience changed my life, forever.
It began as a fluke. One friend asked me to do a favor for one of her co-workers . . . watch her long-awaited baby for a few months. I thought a few months with an infant sounded divine. In those first months, I fell in love with the baby and her family. Meanwhile, Chad and I had some unexpected bills pile up, and I had a very easy decision to make. . . get a job and send Brenna to day care OR keep the baby and add a couple more for a full-fledged home day care center. I have always loved how God prepared me for that job. He so clearly paved the way.
The BEST thing about doing day care was the relationships I formed with the kids. Most of them still feel like nieces and nephews to me.
The second BEST thing was the relationships I formed with the amazing moms I served. They showered me with appreciation. After being a stay at home mom for years, my soul was dry and weary. Having moms appreciate my mothering spirit renewed me in so many ways. I will be forever grateful for their love, affection, and friendship.
Fast forward nearly a decade and this week I had the extreme pleasure of reliving those days when I kept "that baby" (Ellie) and her little sister (Abby) while their mom finished teaching for the year. It was a precious week for me.
I often marvel at how while JG's mom was carrying him in her womb, I watched two of my day care mom's carry babies, too. I was able to hold Abby (on the left) before she went home from the hospital. I snuggled her while JG's Ethiopian mom snuggled him. I watched Abby learn to sit and crawl and walk and talk at nearly the same time that JG's momma watched him learn similar milestones. Though we were half a world apart, and I had not yet a clue that he would be my son (or that we would ever have an Ethiopian son), God sent me babies to nurture that were just his age.
AND. . . because of the love I had for my day care kids, I never doubted I could and would love and bond with an adopted child. I knew first hand how much I could love a child that did not grow in my belly because of the "Auntie love" I had for "my kids."
Looking back, all the ways that God prepared our hearts and home for His plan is incredibly humbling.
Incredibly!
These sweet sisters loved, loved, loved my baby. They were perfectly patient and kind with her. It was a gift to me to watch them.
We spent the week doing minimum work and maximum playing. We did sweet simple things - trampoline jumping, bike riding, park playing, movie watching, banana bread baking, talking, talking, talking, zoo trekking, museum touring, and kiddie pool swimming. We didn't do anything fancy or expensive. We did not rush. We just savored.
It was the BEST way I could EVER have spent the last week my kids were in school. (Ellie and Abby go to school in a different district, so they were out before my crew was.) It was a week where I was reminded that slowing down is the KEY to summer.
Unfortunately, I tend to be more willing to slow down and play with other people's kids than I am with my own. I often spend too much time wiping floors and folding clothes, instead of jumping on the tramp and running through the sprinkler. With Ellie and Abby I knew I only had a week, so I needed to make the most of it. I take time with my own crew for granted, sometimes. And other times, I DO have to fold some clothes and make some supper. I feel like spending a week with Ellie and Abby helped put the use of my time into perspective a bit.
It definitely helped me set some goals for the summer!
1. Play more! Leave the mess without stress and head out the door to play instead.
2. Ask for more help from my kids so I can spend more time with them and less time catering to them. I have already warned the older kids that they will be cooking once or twice a week. Hopefully that is a win-win, they learn to cook; I have more time to hang.
3. Unplug! I have removed social media from my mobile devices and it is freeing up my brain so very much. I want to have the space and energy to really engage. Removing silly distractions has been so good, so good. (On that note, if you want me to know something, call me or text me. I will still be checking in to FB and Instagram on my computer a couple times a week - but I know I will miss a lot of daily details that many of you post. I love y'all, I just love the people I am doing life with more!)
4. Plan daily homework assignments for Joshua. He ended the school year well, but my gut says he has to keep at it this summer. I have learned to always trust my gut in regards to Joshua Gubs.
5. Date the Daddy. This school year,dates have been rare. We spend most weekends supervising teens. We LOVE having the kids and their friends at our house! We do not want that to change. But with later bedtimes and less responsibilities, I think they can get along without us for an hour or two once a week.
I sat outside today and watched Joshua, Mataya, and Brenna clown in a blow-up pool while chatting with Jamison and Sierra. The sun baked us pleasantly, and as it warmed me heart and sou,l I felt so incredibly relaxed and refreshed. I was tempted to allow that joy and peace to be stolen when I walked into my house and saw the messy kitchen and footprinted floors, however, I did not let that thief win. At some point my floors will get scrubbed, but I will have very few summer afternoons spent as simply and joyfully as this one was spent. Baby pool splashes and teen talk trump clean floors any day. They are the moments I will forever hide in my heart.
