My Moms Departing Challenges

When my mom first left after I had CC, Hazel was 5 months old, I was a mess. She left me with a love note, a vote of confidence and a challenge. Her challenge was to be showered, dressed and ready by noon everyday. I have done my best to follow that advice and it has made all the difference. Being a mom is my job. I chose it. I step up to it everyday. Everyday I feel like I am doing something special. I also feel like crud for somethings too! So I treat it like my work, I used to work as a business analyst for a company called Nu Skin. I loved it, it loved solving problems, completing projects, working with teammates, and learning new skills.

Being a mom is similar, I miss the money, bonuses and people that talk in a calm, direct manor but nonetheless I treat this like a job.

Everyday, I chose to be awake, to shower is my privilege. It is okay that a baby cries for a few minutes so I can take a shower, but I can count on one hand how many times that has happened in the last few months, now that the babes are down to a routine. Unless it is a Saturday and I have deep, dirty tasks to undertake, the day does not start until I have had a shower.

I work at solving problems and I pray for wisdom to see problems afar off. I ask the Father for answers, what can I do to help CC overcome her fears? I invite CC to talk to people, I bring her to people she knows at church, so she can say Hi to them, I coach her in looking into their eyes and smiling, not looking away. I have special bike riding dates with her, I hold her close.
I think about problems, how can I make everyones contributions feel valuable when they are so competitive and so different? I praise what they can do personally, Hazel will take on all three crying babies at the same time, trying to entertain them. Once, while I was in the backyard, she made a bottle all by herself, climbed in the crib with Jamie and started feeding him, that girl will take on the world and she won't back down. CC helps me bathe the babies in the big sink Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays. She throws their dirty clothes downstairs, throws wet diapers away and after I soap the babies, she climbs up on a stool, rinses them with a cup and sings to them. She loves to put away the silverware from the dishwasher and I hear her telling herself, "the spoon sleeps here, and fork lives here." Both girls bring me diapers, wipes and onesies when asked. They are especially fond of picking the babies outfits.

The next time my mom left, I had just had Quinn, James and Wil. This was her challenge: Know what you are going to make for dinner by 10am, then you can do little things throughout the day to work up to it, thaw chicken, mix dressing. I have celiac disease. I can't eat wheat at all. I make everything from scratch, I have to, pretty much everything has wheat in it. I love these challenges. I have struggled with this last one, when I keep it, the day runs better. I also feel like a million bucks when N8 gets home and I have something tangible to show for myself. Thank you mother.