A Morning in Motherhood: Finding Joy in the Chaos

My internal alarm clock is set for 4 am, although I often mentally snooze until 4:30. I require some “me time” with a cup of coffee before the kids get up because after that it’s go time and I rarely sit until bedtime rolls around.

This morning the baby decided to have a playdate with me at 3:45am so I had to skip the snooze button. I passed on the usually cereal, waffles or biscuits and decided to cook the girls eggs, bacon and croissants. I woke the  kids up 30 minutes early because our oldest daughter had an early call time for her high school volleyball tournament.

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The yummy breakfast I was so proud of went over like a lead balloon, I could tell by the sighs I got as I entered with their pretty plates. Apparently they were looking forward to waffles.

My husband left early for work and I went into beast mode after breakfast. I was kind of mess because my feelings were hurt about the breakfast rejection but I pretended it was because we were in a hurry. I clapped several times and yelled, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Our oldest was busy straightening her hair so she could go play volleyball and sweat (insert me rolling my eyes here). The triplets were in slow motion and needed more prodding than usual to get their hair and teeth brushed and the baby was getting grouchy due to the early morning playdate. He had the option of passing out in his chair and sleeping it off, I did not.

When we finally got loaded in the car and ready to go, a little voice came from the back of the car letting me know she forgot her backpack.
GO GET IT!!!
When she got back in the car and I put it in reverse I heard another little voice from the abyss of the car. Someone forgot to brush her teeth.
GO BRUSH THEM!
When she got back in the car and we were rolling away another little voice let me know that she didn’t have her homework. I remained silent, pulled the car back into the garage and just sat there. It was everyone’s cue to go back inside and do everything that they forgot to do and get everything they forgot to get. It took all of us tearing the house apart to find my daughters earphones. They were going to have a fire drill at school and she has a sensory issue so she HAS to have the earphone. We found them, but only after we made the house look like it had been ransacked by a burglar.

Finally.
Finally.

We were on our way to school.

As I pulled back into my driveway after I dropped everyone off, I let out a sigh of relief that it was done and all I had to do for the next 30 mins was go inside and feed the baby.  And then I heard my phone buzz.

Girls are freaking out because they forgot to wear their cheer shirts today. Well, Justin was singing but Bella and Myleigh were worried. I told them I would text you.

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Oh ya, the girls were supposed to wear their cheerleading shirts to school today. I put the car back in reverse and headed back to the triplets school. I barely slowed down as I threw the shirts at their teacher and headed back home. My extra 30 minutes were being used and I still needed to feed the baby and get back to the high school before the first game started. I pulled back into my drive way. It was only 7:15am.  I love my kids, but this morning I really didn’t like them that much.

The beauty of it all, however, was that I had a head start on the day.

By 8am I was watching my daughter play in her first high school volleyball tournament and I’ll admit (to you, not to her) that her hair looked beautiful. It didn’t tangle or get wet with sweat no matter how hard she played. I was secretly envious and went home to test her straightener on my hair.

By 8am my triplets were performing a cheer for the PTA meeting at their school. They all had on matching cheer shirts and I won’t ever reveal which one was wearing a dirty one. If you got close and sniffed you might be able to tell but from afar they were good to go.

By 8am the baby was already fast asleep and it made for a much easier trip in the car and it was nice to have him snooze through the volleyball game so I could focus on our oldest.

In the middle of the chaos, I often forget to stop and count my blessings. We get so caught up in the rat race that we forget to just breathe. Nothing is going to be smooth sailing when you have kids and that’s the beauty of it all. The spontaneous “excitement” and unexpected detours is what makes life so fun.

My kids get pancakes tomorrow no matter how great I think I am for preparing something I wanted.  All homework gets put in the backpacks tonight.  We will get back on our normal morning schedule tomorrow and teeth brushing time will fit in when it normally does.  A new pair of earphones will be purchased today to be kept at school.  As for that early morning playdate, I’m going to soak it up. He won’t be a baby much longer and I will never get this time back. If he wants to hang at 3am, then let’s get the party started!

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One day my house will be empty and I will beg for the chaos. I’ll beg for a little voice to come from the back of the car needing something from me. I’ll beg for a little babble to escape the crib so that I will go pick him up. I will beg to smell the burn of the straightener from my teens bathroom.

One day I’ll be sitting in my chair at 9am sipping on my coffee wondering what I will do for the rest of the day and wish that I had cheer shirts to run up to school, a volleyball tournament to attend or a baby to rock.

So today I’ll count my blessings instead of being frustrated with them.
Today I will relax and enjoy the mess.
Today I will accept the curve balls and roll with them.
Today I will not let the little things slip away.
Today I will slow down and soak up every last-minute with these precious gifts.

After the baby went down for his nap I really did test out that hair straightener. It worked great. Then the baby woke up and spit up in my hair so I just stuck it in a bun and went on about my day. Ahh the joys of motherhood.

Candice
Candice Curry is a born and raised San Antonio mother of 6. She and her husband escape their kids by taking backroad drives in the Texas hill country seeking out the best whiskey and coolest antiques. When she grows up she wants to own an ice cream truck and travel around Texas selling ice cream and french fries with her family.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Wow! I love it. The teeth, the backpack, the chaos…. It feels like it was a morning around here (without a teenager yet!) thank you for the great reminder about the quiet house one day.

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