Laughter is Good

Proving that a lot can change in a week, I enjoyed a GREAT night Monday with the girls. They were respectful, participative, kind...what a turnaround from last week. Thank you to those of you who prayed.

We spent some time discussing Proverbs 31 and lingered a bit on the second half of verse 25. In the Message translation it says, "She always faces tomorrow with a smile." The girls remarked that they couldn't imagine living that way. It got me thinking about the importance of perspective. My life is chaotic and filled with daily foibles and noise. I roll my eyes, sigh and experience fatigue through many afternoons. Yet, when I sit down to record a remembrance of the day, I attempt to filter through the things that should be forgettable--the parts that won't have any lasting value. It is not about pretending life is perfect, but rather about choosing not to dwell on the negative.

Today I received an unexpected phone call from Amy Beth. She was in the area and wondered if we were up for a visit. I mentioned that K had her dress rehearsal late this afternoon for this weekend's recital and she decided to drive over to see. Unfortunately, once K and I arrived at the auditorium I looked around and realized there were no other little Minnie Mouse costumed girls in the place. Was I late?

Turns out I was early...48 hours early. Her rehearsal is actually scheduled for Friday. AGGHH! I was aggravated, afterall, Amy Beth had driven in town, I had arranged a babysitter, but God gave me the grace to laugh.

Back at the homestead, my children thoroughly enjoyed playtime with "Amy Beff."

I think she enjoyed herself as well!

Over dinner, she shook her head and said, "You don't get a tenth of this reading the blog." I couldn't help but wonder exactly what she meant by 'this...' the chaos, the noise, the fun, the non-stopness...all of it?

The afternoon wound up getting even more interesting as my curly girl gave us our first heavy dose of big-time smartypants sassiness. Is this five? Yikes! She tested. She pushed buttons. She persisted at it for several minutes--she even had a comeback to my suggested discipline. Woo! I truly had a flash forward to what 12 or 13 might be like--and I got nervous.

"She can laugh at the days to come." Proverbs 31:25

Thankfully, I had a couple of things tucked away in my psyche to help me regain my perspective. First, these gorgeous flowers my husband sent me today....just because.

And a reminder of the funniest (gross-est) experience I have had in a while. Saturday morning when we were at family camp, I was watching the children play along the edge of the lake while my husband ran up to his cabin to shower. I was alternating between drinking coffee and wiping allergy-prone noses with a tissue from my pocket. Somewhere along the way, I lost track of the tissue...until I got to the bottom of my coffee cup and found it!

Ahhh, motherhood. It may not be glamorous, but there is definitely much to laugh about.