I took the first picture thinking: I don't know what they're doing, but it looks like fun!
I took the last pictures with a grumbling heart because cleaning up mud from all over was not what I had in mind. Don't get me wrong, I love a good romp through the mud, but I also like for them to be my idea so I'm mentally prepared for the mess. Seriously though, it looks like a mud massacre happened...
So as I sit in the basement starting the world's muddiest load of laundry, I'm forcing myself to breathe and focus on the grace I promised myself I was going to give this year. "Give the grace you want to get" was our sign for a while. Ugh🤦♀️ when the words you put in place for others you have to live up to!
Tonight we're going to eat the ice cream and watch a movie as promised. Not because my heart's in it right now, but because I'm giving them grace.
What I'm currently seeing is a mess. What I gracefully need to remind my heart of is what that mess holds: sisters making memories that entertained them for hours. I'm not sure how it transpired from the chaos on the porch to a mud fight in the backyard, but I know they laughed and had a blast together. I know they can either remember the fun they had with "mom wasn't happy with us" or "mom wasn't happy with the mess, but she loved us enough to look past it and make the rest of our night just as good as the part outside was."
Oh how hard it is not to taint that memory with my attitude. I'll probably sit here for a few more and listen to the washing machine do its thing before I head up and immerse myself in their giggles for the night. I'll sit here and look for the good and hopefully shift what they remember of my original reaction. Because really, childhood is fleeting and they all got along for like a really long time in sibling world. And isn't that the ultimate goal?
No comments:
Post a Comment