I went to my MOPS meeting this morning. I almost didn't. When I looked at the clock and realized that I had to leave right then if I wanted to be 5 minutes late, and Bubby wasn't even dressed yet, I thought, "I should just stay home. I can't do this today." The drive gave me some time to calm down and think about my morning, and I realized that not everything went wrong that could have, but it was definitely not a happy morning.
First of all, I slept until 7:04, when Bubby woke me up. Now this might sound like a good thing, to be able to sleep until 7, but it really isn't, not on a school day. Sleeping until 7 means that I don't get a shower in the morning, and a shower is pretty much essential for me to have a good day. It also wasn't good because Bubby waking me up at 7:04 meant that Logo and Code-man were not yet awake either. Especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when they take a shower, L & C need to get up at 7 in order to get everything in and not have to rush out the door to the bus. Then Logo was upset about showering, Bubby decided to knock over my bowl-ful of milky rice chex (which I optimistically poured thinking perhaps I could gobble it down while L & C were in the shower--nope), and then proceeded to throw Code-man's corn and rice chex in various directions to see what would happen (he's quite the scientist).
My goal is to have the kids out the door by 8:05, so I have them brush their teeth at 7:55, then go put their shoes, coats, hats and gloves on. But with the trouble in the shower, that meant Logo had 7 minutes to eat. Logo doesn't do anything fast, most of all, not eating. So at 7:58 I'm screaming at the older boys to brush their teeth, and by 8:02, I'm saying, forget it, just get your shoes on. They rushed out the door at 8:07 and 8:08 (the bus comes at 8:10), and (you knew this was coming) Bubby got his hand slammed in the door. I don't really need to go on here, do I? You're getting the feeling for the kind of morning I was having? I missed the bus (I assume the children made it, because when I finally got out there, I didn't see them), I still wasn't showered, Bubby wasn't dressed, and there were food and dishes strewn about haphazardly in the kitchen and dining room, but I hadn't eaten. It was just one of those days, when you feel like you should just lie low and hope that something good happens eventually.
But you know, in that moment, when I was deciding not to go, I realized that today, of all days, I needed to go. After a morning like I had, I needed to remove myself from that situation and just be. For those of you who don't know, MOPS is an international organization that celebrates and supports Moms of Pre-Schoolers (and before someone says, but you don't have a preschooler, Scarlet, pre-school means they haven't started school yet). Today I really needed that support from other moms who have been there. I needed to not be a mom for a while and just be a grown-up, a woman. I am so thankful for that group of women, who I don't even really know all that well--what I do know is, we're all moms and we're all trying our best and sometimes messing up. I am so glad I decided to go--it is such a blessing to be able to feel that love and acceptance from my peers--it's like a soul re-charge.
Well, I did eventually get a shower, got Bubby dressed, and only ended up being 15 minutes late for the meeting. I ate brunch at the meeting, and there are still food and dished strewn about (in fact, Hubby, don't be surprised if it's all still there when you come home :-P. And my day has gone so much better than I could have imagined.
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