A pop quiz on Mother's Day

About 8 years ago, when my kid were little (ok, now I feel old), we had just moved to New Jersey from Nebraska, and I was asked to introduce myself to a group of ladies. I gave them a pop quiz in the form of multiple choice, and asked them to pick which answers they thought were true of me. One of the questions described two different versions of a "day in the life" of me, and I asked them to pick which one they thought was true of me.

So now it's your turn! A little pop quiz for you! Which do you think was true of me?:

Day in the Life A

• Up at 6:15.
• Quiet solitude and prayer time with the Lord.
• Throw in a load of laundry in the basement on the way to the treadmill for a workout,then move the clothes to the dryer on the way up to take a hot shower before the kids get up.
  
• Fix a nutritious breakfast for the kids, begin a loaf of bread in the bread machine for lunch, and pull something out of the freezer for dinner.
• Wake up my little darlings, who quickly dress, make their beds, and eat breakfast.
• Spend the day finishing all the laundry, balancing the checkbook, reading to the kids, fixing a leaky faucet, emailing all of my friends, updating my scrapbooks, teaching the kids to diagram sentences, and planting bulbs in the garden.
• While all four kids nap, I read a great book on the Christian life and flip through a decorating magazine.
• Greet my husband as he returns from work with a kiss and a tidy home filled with the tasty aroma of a home cooked meal and freshly vacuumed carpet.
• Give the kids a bath after dinner, then visit with Joe on the couch while they quietly put on their PJs and brush their teeth, ready by 8 for their bed time story.
• Get hugs and kisses from the four cutest kids in this world and climb into bed with the man of my dreams.

Day in the Life B

• Kids wake me up just in time for Barney.
• I offer a quick prayer for patience as I carry my Danielle to the kitchen, all while she’s screaming “BOTTLE” in my ear.
• No workout. No shower.
• Unglue the kids bottoms from the couch and begin the hour long process of picking dirty cloths off of the floor, changing diapers, fixing Hannah and Danielle’s hair, only to have them remove the pony tails within minutes, and telling Josh he can’t wear the same Chicago Bulls shirt three days in a row.
• Throw some lucky charms in a bowl and instruct the kids to dig in, while I go to empty a dishwasher that I discover I forgot to turn on last night.
• Wonder at 10:30 where the morning has gone, and what the heck I’ve been doing for the last 3 hours.
• Send the kids outside to play, telling them all moms make their kids play outside in 30* weather.
• Answer the door every 5 minutes as the kids knock and say, “MOM- I’m cold". Or "Nathan took my chalk". Or "I have to go to the bathroom". Or "Josh just hit me". Or "I need a drink". Or "MOM, Hannah locked herself in the barn again!”
• Wonder at 1:00 if I’ll get anything done today and realize I should probably feed the kids something for lunch.
• Put the kids down for a nap, and spend the next 2 hours trying to convince the boys that 4 years old is not too old for a nap. Give in and let them play on the computer instead.
• Greet Joe as he returns from work and help him up off the floor after he trips on one of Hannah’s baby dolls.
• Realize that I haven’t even thought about dinner and beg Joe to order pizza.
• Attempt to catch up with Joe about our day, and end up yelling over the noise of four toddlers chasing each other all over the house, only to loose my husband to the chaos as he joins in the chase.
• Repeat this sentence 100 times: "Kids, please get pajamas on and brush your teeth and get ready for bed.”
• Collapse exhausted on the couch at 9:45 as Joe reads the kids their Bible story and prays with them.
• Get hugs and kisses from the four cutest kids in the world, and climb into bed with the man of my dreams.

Some things have changed. Some haven't. But one thing is for sure: my kids are growing up. With tears in my eyes, I am trying to remember yesterday with thankfulness, embrace today with an intentional awareness of the joy found in the ordinary, and look forward to tomorrow's version of what being a mom will mean for me.