A Good Cry

Today, I had a melt down. Ministry has been "full" lately, and the boys haven't seen much of their daddy these last two weeks. It is always a struggle to balance time with the boys and house responsibilities in the few moments of "spare" time he has. Quite frankly, the boys usually win out which is as it should be. So I do what I can with laundry, cleaning, meals, dishes , etc... Somehow, nothing seems to get finished. (That's life with a two-year-old and a pastor husband.)

Usually, just as dad sees a light at the end of the tunnel and is about to have some time off, the boys begin to make it pretty clear they're tired of "just mom" and mom is ready to say a big DITTO!

This morning Ken left to go speak at a "No Regrets" men's conference. The kids and I were just hanging out at home, but they had spent the morning pestering each other and Bennett had spent the morning destroying what little bit of housework I did manage to accomplish. By afternoon, I'm sure my blood pressure was through the roof. When I discovered a Bingo game scattered all over the upstairs, down the staircase and all over my kitchen floor, I thought I was going to lose it! (Do you remember how many little red circle markers there are in a Bingo game?) I calmly walked into the living room where all four of the boys were watching TV and said, "Apparently it doesn't bother any of you that the Bingo game is all over the house. I'm going to my room." The look on their faces told me they caught the depth of my meaning. I walked into my bedroom and burst into tears. A few minutes passed. I had a good cry. And then my oldest son knocked quietly on the door, slipped in the room and whispered, "Mom, I cleaned up the mess." Then he looked at me, saw my tears and asked if I was ok. He has such a tender heart. I told him sometimes mommies just need a good cry. Ain't that the truth!

Before he left my room, we were laughing together, and by the time Dad finally arrived home, we had put together a great plan. Dad took them all to an indoor activity center an hour away and gave mommy almost five hours alone in my own house. That never happens! It was a great gift! I sang at the top of my lungs. I played the piano - loud! I scrubbed my tub. (Who knew it was white?) I folded laundry without Bennett tossing me the clothes I had just folded. I took the Finding Nemo tape out of the VCR (it's the only thing I've watched lately) and caught the end of a chick flick (and cried some more). It was just what this mommy needed!