Peace and Perspective

It's been a good day around here. No fighting. No yelling. No arguing. Well, a little arguing but nothing that wasn't easily remedied. :) I like days like this. No, I LOVE days like this. There was tons of snuggle time and millions of I love you. I was even lucky enough to be able to spend one-on-one time with Kelton on the backyard swing while Kaylen watched Dora inside. It isn't often these days that I have time alone with my first born - I miss it and it felt really good today.

I implemented a word into our lives today and I think it made a huge difference for all of us. Such a simple word: respect. Whenever someone started doing something they shouldn't be doing I would simply say "I need you to respect....." as in "I need you to respect Kaylen when she says stop." and "Do you think that was a respectful thing to have done?" and "I need you to respect my decision."

I was stunned and in awe of how easily it took care of things. It was like a magic word all day long. I was soft spoken when I would talk with them about it and they would both immediately start behaving again. So simple! And yes, I am well aware that what worked today might not work tomorrow but hey - it just might! I might be onto something. It was just a nice, gentle reminder for all of us.

Last night I was blog-hopping and I ended up on a blog that broke my heart into a trillion tiny pieces. It was a mom-blog written by a mom with two young daughters, an almost 6 year old and a not yet 2 year old. In July the family went to the beach and the 5 year old drowned while playing a water game. I read back into the archives and I literally sat riveted to my desk for forty minutes with tears streaming down my face. I can't begin to even comprehend the pain this mom is living with. It's heart wrenching and so, so raw.

After the afternoon/evening I had last night, I was beside myself. I went in to check the kids and kiss their sleeping faces a bunch of times. I just had to reassure myself they were ok because I just can't imagine losing them. I kept thinking "It can all change in the blink of an eye." Who cares about the paint? Who cares that it was a mess? They were having fun and laughing and playing. In the end, what did it really matter? They are here. Safe and healthy and loving life. That's what matters most and I need to remember that when they start acting up. In the grand scheme of things clothes can be washed (or tossed out) and skin washes clean eventually - hardly something to be angry about when I have my babies healthy and alive right in front of me.

Perspective, I tell you. Nothing like it.

A child who I never knew in life is making me strive to be a better, more patient mom. Her death has touched me and I don't think I will ever be the same.

Perspective. *sigh*

Tomorrow is another day and I am so blessed, lucky and fortunate to have the chance to spend it with my children. And tomorrow is a teacher in-service day in our district which means I get to have Kelton home all day long. I'm really, really looking forward to it. He has already put his bid in for something fun to do - he'd like to go to the store to "check out all the Halloween decorations". This cracks me up because both he and Kaylen are terrified of the Halloween rows and yet, they try to be very brave. It will be interesting to see how it goes. And through it all, I will be remember Hannah and the pain of her mother.