Outnumbered

My roommate in college, Daree, is the youngest of 3 "stair-stepped" children. I can remember laughing at a story she told about all 3 running wild while her mother was on the telephone resulting in drapes being ripped down, a child stumbling down some stairs--and all 3 crying at once. I cannot believe I ever found that funny or unusual.

When the children were babies, one of the questions interested strangers always asked was, "What do you do when they all cry at once?" I will admit that was one of the most overwhelming aspects of the early days. I can vividly remember the 5:00 hour daily, because invariably my tired, hungry babies would cry simultaneously. The sitter was always gone by then. Daddy was never home by then. On good days, I would take a deep breath and tend to whoever I could, as efficiently as I could and move on. On bad days, I would sit in the floor with them and cry. Eventually, I wised up and rearranged the nanny's hours so I had help in those "peak times," but I will never forget how overwhelmed, inadequate and outnumbered I felt.

In the last week or so, I have been feeling that way again. The kiddos have a major case of monkey-see, monkey-do. (Either that or they see my moments of weakness as an opportunity to pounce.) Increasingly, when one starts acting up or whining, the others seem to hop on the train. As is common to mothers, the telephone seems to be a HUGE aggravator of this phenomenon.

This week, I had to call the manager of the golf course we live adjacent to for authorization for trucks to access our backyard via the course. He was being a bit difficult about my request, so I was attempting to sound professional and reasonable as I questioned his decision. Meanwhile, R became an emotional disaster...shrieking like a woman in the background. The more dirty looks and stern warnings I mouthed in his direction the more vocal he became. K & P were "playin' da musical ins-twuments" in the background. It was a noisy madhouse. I never even acknowledged this behavior to the man I was speaking to, as I already feared that he had written me off as an "ignorant housewife." Instead, I picked up my child who was absolutely wailing at this point and carted him to Time Out. Finally, the man said, "Ma'am, it sounds like you have a lot going on there..." Now THAT is an understatement.

Yesterday, a new neighbor strolled over with her 19 month old to welcome us to the neighborhood. Within the 10 minutes she was in our front yard, K had stepped in doggie doo, P had attempted multiple times to "play" with the baby by putting a 3 foot tree limb in her face, R had been sent to Time Out for pushing P down and K had accidentally taken a huge whack to the face with a wiffle ball bat. I am sure she is so pleased at the civility of her daughter's new playmates.

Today, I ventured to the mall to let the children play on their indoor playground. As we were leaving, we popped in the GAP. The children rarely use a stroller anymore, so I was trying to keep them close while I peeked quickly at swimsuits. My cell phone rang and I knew it was Daddy calling between patients, so I answered it. Immediately, R ran out the door into the Mall. As I dashed after him, he fell into a puddle on the floor and pitched a tantrum. I tried to calm him down as I picked him up. Then, my eyes darted around the store searching for two other three foot tall brunettes. I found K on the 3rd step of a ladder one of the associates had left out and P swinging like a monkey from a bar of clothes. I hung up on my husband, then shuttled the trio into a changing room so I could call him back and make plans for lunch.

I have several stories like this a day. I am not complaining. It is what it is--and this too shall pass. I write this moreso because it would be dishonest of me to portray myself as always positive. Unfortunately, I am too often impatient, frustrated and overwhelmed. I don't want to spend too much time in that place. It is not helpful. So, I choose to use this blog as a place to "get my head back in the game" and allow God to shift my focus back to the right place. Most of the time, it works--until the next crazy, toddler-induced situation occurs anyway!

I have no doubt I will laugh about these stories one day...One day when the kiddos have all LIVED into adulthood and I have managed to stay out of an asylum. :-)