All signs point to it........

The signs all point to it.  It's like one of those neon Las Vegas signs with blinking lights and a giant arrow pointing type of signs.  It's pointing to the word 'Busy'.  Now anyone one with kids gets the 'oh you must be so busy' comment.  Especially those of us with a family where the kids out number the parents by quite a few.  I usually nod and laugh or smile when I hear that comment.  I'm thinking in my head 'if only you knew, if only you knew that at home I don't appear anywhere near as calm as I do right at this moment'!

However, I'm pretty sure that the word 'busy' is bringing a whole new meaning to our family.  The kind of busy where I honestly don't even know where to jump in sometimes!  There are so many things I should be doing, need to be doing, forget about that I was supposed to be doing, that quite frankly, I wonder about my sanity!  You know, when eating spaghetti 5 nights a week doesn't sound all that bad, I know it's bad........

And the thing is, the feeling ebbs and flows.  It washes over me in waves, kind of like when I'm out on the lake, floating while trying to get my skis on while holding on to the rope and then all of a sudden the wake from another boat starts bobbing me up and down.  The largest part of the wake seems like it's going to go over my head...but it doesn't.  I ride it out, keep my head above water, keep fighting with the ski boot, keep holding on to the rope....and then I call 'slack out'.  Yep, pull out whatever little bit of extra rope I have, but don't worry, I'll still hang on and call out 'hit it'!  Hanging on for dear life as the boat engine roars it's intentions, I come up out of the water and whiz on through bumpy wakes while enjoying the amazing moments of accomplishing a task that at one time felt impossible.  

The analogy works for my life too.  It works for these days when I feel totally in control, with a no problem attitude and then only hours later I am scrambling to keep my head above water!
-Help this child with soccer shin guards,
-encourage the other child to pull the soccer socks on all by himself,
-talk one of the 6th graders through strategy of figuring out what homework to do first,
-quickly come up with some other nutritious side that compliments spaghetti,
-call out to another child to put the trumpet down and get his dang soccer clothes on,
-go back to the other 6th grader and tell him to stop hyperventilating about the homework,
-finesse another child into eating more of his dinner because that's ALL there is until after practice and then that is what there WILL be to eat when he gets home,
-remind someone to pack snacks for after practice on the way to scouts,
-put my hands to my head and roll my eyes as I look at the destruction left in the path of my 5 kids,
-remind the older boys to TAKE DEODORANT with them for after practice,
-ask them 5 more times before leaving if the really remembered to grab the deodorant,
-shove 2 kids out the door to soccer practice with Bill while gently hurrying/encouraging the hyperventilating child to get on with some part of his homework,
-answer the cell phone and listen as Bill tells me he has the older kids soccer balls but not their scout uniforms/books, so I'll need to stop by little people's practice on the way to dropping the bigger people off at their soccer practice,
-as I'm pulling out of the driveway ask the boys if they remembered their water bottles.....wait in the driveway while one runs back in to get them,
-commiserate with a working mom in the parking lot about how the heck she gets it all done,
-head back to little people's practice and enjoy my 8.5 minutes of company with my friends as we watch all our kids run around like maniacs after practice,
-load sweaty, red faced children into the car and tell them as soon as we get home, they are to take all their soccer stuff off and LEAVE IT IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM, strip naked and wait for the tub to fill- -all the while warning that this is a no frills tub time...it's in, scrub and out,
-remind the hungry child that his dinner is still waiting for him on the table,
-scoop dessert for the other 2,
-hurry them into the bathroom for teeth brushing and then into bed for story time,
-remind the one who earned 10 minutes of XBox that his time is now up and then threaten no more play time for the week if he doesn't turn it off NOW,
-remind him he needs to read,
-shoo him into bed with the promise he'll turn the light off as soon as he's done reading,
-smile at the 5 year old that is already asleep despite only having been in bed for 3.5 minutes,
-trudge back out to the living room and sit down.  For the first time today. 
-then decide that the heck with the piles of dishes I cannot stand in the sink and the bed that is covered with socks I need to fold...after all, it's been 4 days since I blogged! 
-And then remember that little people need lunches made for tomorrow.  Booo.......

That was my life from 3:35pm to 8:15pm today.  Tomorrow, same life, different schedule!  Must keep repeating 'breathe, just breathe'!!  This too shall pass I've been told by some wise people I know and love........