Good Enough

The other day, my single friend asked me what I do all day. I answered, "Clean my house," in an unexcited voice. When I got home I started really thinking about that question. What DO I do all day? And am I really unexcited about my position as a mother and wife? And what kind of impression do I want to give to others about my important role?

The truth is, I LOVE MY JOB! When I think about doing anything else besides being at home with my kids, I get sad. And I don't just clean all day. I strive every day to spend quality time with my kids and my love. I strive to improve myself and my family physically, mentally, and spiritually. I also devote time to cleaning my house, but I've realized that if this becomes my primary goal and focus, I drown in discouragement and I NEVER FEEL FULFILLED.

So this is what I do all day. At first glance, it seems that I could have answered her question, "What do you do all day?" with "Fail." But, Swen and the spirit tell me that any day I get to spend with my kids is a success, and I believe them. (At least I constantly remind myself to believe THEIR words, and not the words of discouragement that come from the little devil on my other shoulder.)

Ideal

Reality

6:00 Hop out of bed, enthused and ready for the day. Grab my scriptures, and enjoy a 1/2 hour of uplifting study of the upcoming Sunday school lesson with Swen.

6:00 Alarm goes off. Is nighttime over already? Alyssa woke up 3 times last night! I drag myself out of bed around 6:05 about 3 of 7 mornings, and TRY (but usually fail) to keep my eyes open while Swen and I read the Sunday school lesson.

6:30 Bury myself in meditation on the words of the past conference talks

6:30 Still trying to stay awake, but my head keeps dropping onto my chest

7:00 Time for family scripture study!

7:00 Family scripture study is usually a success unless Lincoln and Alyssa are awake. They are very distracting

7:20 Family Prayer

7:25 Convince the boys to roll off the couch and stop wrestling so we can pray together

7:25 The boys QUICKLY shower and get dressed. They make their beds, clean their rooms, say their morning prayers, and come down with MATCHING clothes.

7:30 Does the word HURRY even register with 7 and 9 year old boys? And why does Isaac insist on wearing the same pants 3 days in a row? "Red shorts and an orange shirt do NOT look good together, and you can't wear shorts in the winter."

7:45 Breakfast. Those who will not be exercising in 15 minutes sit down to a healthy, steaming hot breakfast while we enjoy meaningful conversation.

7:50 The word hurry is still not registering with the boys. They owe me 5 minutes of work when they come home because AGAIN they are 5 minutes late for breakfast. They quickly stuff 3/4 of their breakfast down

8:00 Time to catch the bus!

8:03 HURRY boys! RUN for the bus! Hope you catch it! I love you! See you after school! Have a wonderful day! Isaac, please remember to wear your coat so you won't get too cold! Joseph, don't forget to turn in your homework and look for your jacket in the lost and found! BYE!

8:01 Head to the gym with Swen, Lissy, Lincoln. Put the babies in the playroom, then do 40 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of weight lifting

8:20 Raaaar! It takes so long to get out the door with 2 little ones! Working out feels great.

9:15 Eat breakfast, shower, be ready for the day by 10:00

9:30 Eat breakfast, get wrapped up in some kind of distraction, peek-a-boo with Lincoln, dance with Alyssa

10:00 Morning clean-up, Lincoln's nap, Spend individual time with Lissy, set daily goals, get projects done, be organized, mark some tasks off my list

10:30 I REALLY need to take a shower! I'm still in my stinky workout clothes! This house is a total disaster. I hope no one comes over right now....DING DONG! What song do you want to sing now, Lissy? (on top of old smoky) "On top of Alyssa, all covered with hair, She had a bird, on top of a pear..." Yes, we are best friends, sweetie, you are my favorite girl in the whole wide world. I love you, too.

12:30 Hello Lincoln! I'm so glad you woke up! Let's have lunch!

12:30 Hello Lincoln! I'm so glad you woke up! Let's have lunch! The house is still a disaster, my hair is still wet from my shower, I have no make-up on, but at least the kids are healthy and happy. Thank you for that nice hug, Lissy.

1:00 Time for Lissy's nap. Spend meaningful time with Lincoln, mark more tasks off my list

1:30 Lissy, you really need to take a nap now. No more drinks, no more potty, no more stories, your blankie is right here, don't come out again or you'll have to go to time-out.

1:45 The house is still a mess. Try not to get discouraged because it's useless to try to accomplish anything when Lincoln hangs on my pants and cries when I walk out of his sight. Catch the ball, Link, here it comes, now roll it back. Good boy, you are so smart!

3:00 Wake Lissy up, say goodnight to Link again.

3:30 Do I really have to wake Lissy up? It's so nice when she's asleep! Hello, beautiful! I'm so happy to see you. How was your nap? What did you dream about?

4:00 The boys come home from school and enjoy a small, healthy snack while we have great conversation about every detail of their day at school. They finish their homework and piano practicing QUICKLY AND WITHOUT COMPLAINT, then they are able to go out and enjoy some fresh air before dinner.

4:00 The boys come home STARVING TO DEATH and gorge themselves on the most unhealthy food they can find. They don't want to stop, they don't care if their appetites are spoiled, and they would really rather play than do homework and piano practicing. Their days were "great." Recess was "fine." Lunch was "good."

5:00 Start making dinner while the kids all play quietly together. Swen comes home from work and is very helpful.

5:15 The boys are still trying to do homework, due to procrastination. I try to make dinner while... helping them with homework, refereeing the fighting, trying to keep Lincoln to stop clinging to the back of my legs, talking on the phone, and continually asking Lissy to stop crawling through the food mess on the counter. Where is Swen?

6:00 Dinner is served. The WHOLE family loves the nice, well-rounded dinner I prepared. We all enjoy deep conversation together.

6:45 Dinner will be ready in just a minute! I know you're hungry. Maybe you could help instead of complaining. Will you call daddy and see where he is?

7:00 Dinner is FINALLY served. Hey Baby! I'm so glad you came home, we were just about to start without you! We sometimes try to use good manners, and any conversation is okay as long as it doesn't dwell too much on gross bodily functions.

6:30 We all help to clean the kitchen, then we have some quality family time

7:45 I start cleaning the kitchen while trying to manage the kids' bedtime routine. Thanks for rinsing out the dishes, babe, would you mind loading them, too?

7:45 Get the kids ready for bed, family prayer

8:00 Family prayer--settle down guys, it shouldn't take 5 minutes of us kneeling here to get ready to pray!

8:00 Read Link a story, sing him a song, and say goodnight. Sing Lissy a song, help her with prayers, read her a story, and say goodnight. Tell the boys they can read until 8:30

8:15 Sing a song to Link, say goodnight. Tell the boys to read for a few minutes before bed. Brush Alyssa's teeth, help her go potty, get her jammies on, help her with prayers, read her a story, convince her that one is enough, sing her a song, say goodnight, shut the door. Get Alyssa a drink, shut the door. Find the silky, shut the door. Help with potties again, shut the door. That's enough! Would you like to stay in bed or go to time out?

8:30 Goodnight Boys! Spend some quality time with Swen talking about our day, maybe read together or dance a little in the family room

8:45 Tuck the boys in, sing a song and say goodnight. Answer all the deep questions that have plagued their minds for the past month, and say goodnight again.

9:00 Alyssa, it's SERIOUSLY time to say goodnight. I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW!

9:30 Time out for Lissy. Hopefully for the last time.

9:45 Say hi to Swen, ask how his day was, and join him on the small chair for a little bit of politics on TV

10:30 Lights out! We're ready for bed. See you tomorrow.

11:30 Hey, babe, we probably better go to bed now. I'm so tired I can hardly move. I really don't want to get ready for bed, can I just crawl right into the nice, soft sheets? It's a good thing I never put on make-up today, because I don't feel like washing my face

12:00 Goodnight, Baby. Kiss, kiss. See you tomorrow.