It's the little things

So a little tiny bit of honesty. Things have been stressful and difficult these last few months.  But sometimes it helps to just see what's good.

Today was good.  It was actually great.  I was able to go to Animal Kingdom with Eric for his 5th grade field trip. Things still weighed on my mind, but it was just fun.

Coming home to my guys and snuggling with Ben was A-mazing. It's been so long since I've just sat and snuggled with my kiddos. It's shameful, but that is about to change.

Driving home from my parents house and singing with the boys along with the radio.  And then laughing so hard when we got the words wrong or sang out of tune.

Life throws a lot of curve balls. It's hard to understand. Choosing to cling to these little things that feel good eases everything just a little.

Ben

Funny how things change but still they stay the same.  Ben is 6 now and finishing up his first year of kindy. HOW is my tiny baby boy about to be a first grader? And do you remember when he was tiny and driving me crazy with the climbing and escaping and getting into things?  I clicked a random link in my blog just now and ran across this post . He was tenacious! He would do anything to get what he wanted... and he still is the same. A little daredevil who got one of his only "yellows" in school this year for running up the slide and jumping off of the play structure. The poor teacher was so worried about a broken arm (and he mostly got in trouble for NOT stopping when told to stop.) He has no fear which may serve him well in life if he can survive long enough to temper it a little. He's learning to take no for an answer a little better. Often it involves some stomping and begging for me to change my mind, but less often will he out and out defy me and do it anyway. It's a process.

His teacher told me recently."Ben has so much energy! But he has the sweetest most caring heart." It made me tear up because it's true. So often I see it. He has so much love and compassion in that little wild heart of his.  It means so much to know that others see it too!

                                                Ben May 23, 2013 Splash Day at school.

So it's been a while

Looking at my last post I can't believe it was December that I was last here. Haven't blogged, haven't read blogs.  I have pretty much spent most of the last 5 months buried under books and trying to keep things in some semblance of order. 

But I finished my first year of nursing school!  I survived! And while school is so very challenging I really do love the part about becoming a nurse at the end.  Just one more year.

There is SO much to catch up on, but I never have been very good at catching up. I'm more a pick up in the here and now sort.  I'm enjoying the time off while the kids are still in school. I'm working on getting things orderly and keeping up with the chores.  I'm also trying to think of the things that I really miss from before I went back to school and writing is on the list. 

Reading that last post way back from December makes me giggle, because we've tried riding bikes to school a few times since then. Usually with similar results. Someone falls, someone bleeds.  The big kids end up getting aggravated so I tell them to go on ahead. Then they still want to do it again. There was an incident when I FORGOT we had biked to school and drove and just almost got in the pick up line. Thankfully at the last second, I remembered, went and parked the car (illegally) and met them at the place where bikers get released.  I explained the situation, and two of my guys decided to hitch a ride with me, putting bike and scooter in the back of the van. The other two rode home on bikes without me. This last time, things went well though. No falls, no whines, no need for the bandaids I stashed in the wasteband of my yoga pants. Then on the way home, my bike got a flat and I got to walk the bulk of the way home.

In spite of it all, do you know what the guys ask me most mornings now that I'm done with school?  "MOM! Can we bike to school today?"  This week has been full of morning appointments and such for me, but tomorrow, I might just say yes.