The Unrelenting Pace of Life

Life has a way of moving forward, one day at a time, whether we want it to or not.  We can’t make it go any faster, and we certainly can’t slow it down.  And while this isn’t a new idea to me (or anyone else), it wasn’t until the last couple of months it has become so obvious to me.  Baby A came on her time.  Outside of unnecessary induction, there wasn’t much we could do about that.  We had to be patient and wait, one day at a time.  Once our movers were scheduled to gather up our goods at the Nebraska house, time then marched forward, one day at a time, and we were helpless to slow it down.  Instead of patience, we now needed sanity amidst a flurry of preparation, while juggling three children, none of which can wipe themselves yet.  And it was somewhere around this point that it hit me.  With three kids, we struggle to keep up on even simple daily tasks, like making sure there is enough toilet paper to last us another day.  Rare is the occasion that there is no crying of any kind, and three kids hollering all at once is a daily occurrence.  To get anything done, from setting up and breaking down camp, to even a minor RV repair, one parent has to manage all three kids to free the other for focused effort.  Perhaps it’s just me, but one parent and three young kids is rarely a delight.  It’s stressful and often borderline dangerous for at least one child at any given moment.  As I write this Brynn is out visiting friends in San Antonio, with all three kids, by herself.  Bless her!  I hope it’s going well, and that I can soon recover from this stomach bug to return me to being a productive member of the team.

This isn’t to say things have been entirely hectic and overwhelming since Baby A was born.  Certainly separating from the military, selling a house, moving into a trailer, moving thousands of miles away on 250 mile jaunt at a time (with three children to boot), is far from a vacation, but I am unemployed after all!  That gives us just enough free hands to stay sane just enough of the time.  I can’t imagine how we’d be managing if I was still working 12 hour rotating shifts. 

So with this unrelenting pace of life, compounded by having three young children, I’ve come to realize something.  Single parents, often mothers, are an incredible type of person.  This could be single parent due to military deployments, or even from a spouse that is working 12+ hour days.  That mom that stays home with three or more children and gets anything done is quite the hero.  I’d be lucky if I didn’t starve to death if I were left to care for the three youngins unassisted.  So while it isn’t Mother’s Day just yet, I still want to take a second to appreciate my wife, my mother and all those who have somehow managed to raise a family under what I consider impossible odds.  Thank you!

(See how I started talking about one thing, and then rambled on to kind of a totally new idea?  Welcome to my brain.  It's a daily struggle.)

Bonus reading:  This post perhaps makes it seem like I don't enjoy being home with the kids, or at least home alone with them.  Who am I kidding?  I don't like being home alone with all three kids for long periods of time.  I feel like I'm stranded and drowning all at the same time.  And as much as Baby A may accept a bottle, it's apparently nothing like the real thing.  However, my sister-in-law and mother of four asked me what it is like to now have three kids.  I said "busy."  She told me the proper response to that is, "It's a blessing."  And she's right.  How blessed I am to have my little kiddos, and especially my wife to walk with me through this journey.