SHORTHAND | Quick Thoughts for a Busy World

Archives for August 2015

Out For a Run With 6 Kids

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I was out for a Saturday morning run… with six kids in tow.

It looked something like this:

Three of the smallest in the stroller built for two. One on a bike, one riding a razor and one walking… with a water break every twenty yards, each kid taking a turn.

That was when I decided I wouldn’t try to run, but rather, just walk.

But the walk wasn’t a brisk walk it was more of a meander, admiring the flowers along the path, waiting for kids to catch up, taking turns getting in and out of the stroller and yes, more water breaks. Not to mention the stop at the park so the kids could play.

What could have been the most blissful hour of my morning, was nothing but. I was a frustrated. I had a goal and all of these things were keeping me from completing it. I wanted to at least keep a steady jog or even a quick paced walk. Not even close.

But then a thought came forcefully into my mind: What do I love about this? How powerful a thought can be…

I let that thought sit with me for a moment as I tried to answer it truthfully.

I was out early on a Saturday morning with all six of my kids. Outside! Not on a screen or cleaning.

I noticed I would catch myself admiring their littleness from time to time. I thought of how much they must love that they are little enough to be pushed in a stroller while they admire the world around them. I know the older ones wished they were still small enough. One of them actually tried to convince me to push them for a while.

I love that they want to be with me.

We walked, we stopped, played at a park, enjoyed nature, laughed, jogged for 20 seconds and enjoyed the sun before it was too hot to enjoy.

Besides, I realized that during that hour we had traveled 1.5 miles while I pushed 100lbs around. That should count for something.

That is what a Saturday morning run with six kids in tow really looked like. I felt bad that I didn’t see it earlier, that I didn’t enjoy it sooner, but it was a lesson for me to learn and I learned it.

Learning as I go.

 

I Could Choose

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I could feel the look on my face — it was stale, icy, stiff, no smile. I could feel my mouth drooping in the corners.

I knew that if I looked into a mirror I would hardly recognize myself. This wasn’t who I wanted to be. This wasn’t what I wanted to be like.

Then it hit me.

I could choose.

I could lift the frown into a smile. I could choose to be happy and joyful, kind and patient and self-assured.

I don’t think my thoughts are always that powerful, but from one moment to the next and for the rest of the day I was who I wanted to be.

I made that choice and it was powerful enough to change me.

Tomorrow is a new day.

What will I choose to be?

The Role of Mother Simplified

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As I laid down tonight to soothe a frightened son, I was reminded how simple it all really is.

He is my younger brother. I am his older sister.

My role in life: to help him get back to Heavenly Father.

How do I do that? Bring him to Christ and Christ will show him the way.

There is a sweet love, distinct from that of a mother, that resonates in my soul as I think of my five boys as my brothers and my daughter as my sister.

The pressure to be the perfect mom fades. The frustration with their choices ebbs. I see them for who they really are. They are just trying to figure out this life just like I am. I see no fault, I just yearn to be there for them. Earthy duties remain, but don’t overrun or override what I know is the basics of Heavenly Father’s plan for them and for me.

I better understand the role of mother, which is godly and noble, when I remember that I am still their sister and that Heavenly Father has entrusted these precious brothers and sister of mine to me. What an honor.

So simple. So sweet to remember I was their sister before I became their mother.

As the Sun Sets

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One day this kid will be so tall, so big and a man, that I will hardly remember what he was like when he was so little, so small and just a boy.

No one has to tell me how quickly the days go by, although the hours seem long. Or how quickly the sun sets each day. How then is it so easy for me to wish the night would come sooner so they all could just go to bed and I could get a break? I know I will look back on these days with regret if I don’t treasure them.

Like watching the magic of each sun set, I will do my best to savor each passing moment with my little babies. Because my time with them will set so fast.

J.M Barrie said it best, “Nonsense. Young boys [and Pixies] should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they’re grown.”

Service with Friends

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As a homeschooling mother the summers are hard for me. I am used to having my kids all to myself until at least 3pm each day. So when the sun comes up and my kids are already itching to go see if their friends can play and that continues until 8pm, I kind of lose it. It is just too much friend time and not enough family time.

I think my struggle is in wanting to know that their time is being well spent. Yes, play is part of life, but there is more to life than play.

In my desperation I called for a non-friend week to solve the problem. That came with a lot of bad attitudes. Understandable.

I only had one rule.

~They could only hang out with friends if I was with them and we were doing service.~

Well that motivated them like nothing else.

We ended up having a great week. My hunger for time with them was filled. I felt good that they couldn’t just run off and be gone for hours. I loved that we were serving together.

I have lifted the ban on hanging out with friends without me with one stipulation: whenever they hang out with friends they have to find a way to do service during that time or they can’t hang out. That’s it.

I have seen the look on the faces of their friends when I have suggested this. One even asked me if Indy will still need to do this once he is old enough to move out of the house… I replied, “I sure hope he would always want to.”

I can imagine a world where the youth are service minded. Where they know when they are together it is to do good. Where they do good even without their parents at their side.

I realize I am raising the bar, but I think it would do us all good if we raised it together and expected more of our already good natured children. Service can be a normal part of childhood and play. They are capable of it and it will help them to become the leaders they are meant to be.

 

5 Minute Clean Up Time Lapse

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Yesterday’s post was received so well that I wanted to share an example of our 5 minute clean up. My kids enjoyed seeing themselves and their accomplishment in this format so much that they were begging me to let them do the loft. Haha. Anything to get them excited right? I am certain we will be including this in our 5 minute clean up routine from time to time.

Because of music rights, I just put this little video to a generic song instead of our Mission Impossible mix. But you get the idea:) Enjoy!

Click here to read a post that explains my system in more detail.

 

 

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