Sacrifice, or not...

I met my third child today. She was beautiful. Born in 1894, a beautiful voice... wait, yes. I did say 1894. Ok, so she wasn't a child, but oh how I wish she was mine! It was the most beautiful piano I have ever seen. I honestly didn't know such a gorgeous instrument existed and I've now added owning one to my bucket list. Maybe not that exact piano, since it cost $60,000. I nearly cried when I played it, it was that beautiful. But $60,000 is a lot of money. *sigh* She was gorgeous and my heart ached to own her. I paused in silence to just take in the beauty and imagine this beautiful grand in my home. And then, the silence was broken with the sound of footsteps and bursts of laughter that filled my heart with beauty and love, and I walked away from that beautiful Steinway with nothing but pure joy in my heart for the blessings I have.

Sometimes you may feel like you are sacrificing a lot for your choice to be a mother. Well, you are. BUT, those little smiles, those tiny arms around your neck, those tender moments, make it well worth it don't they? Sure, I might be sacrificing my time and money that I would love to spend practicing on a beautiful grand piano. The thing is, although I would always appreciate it, the instrument would lose it's novelty, and the priority I put into practicing it would most likely lose it's place to some other activity. My children however, will never cease to amaze me, and my family will always be my top priority, so it doesn't feel like a sacrifice. I know that in time, I will have time to practice more, and although I might not have that Victorian Steinway Grand, I will have a beautiful instrument to play on. My children have increased my capacity to love and made my life richer and fuller in a way that couldn't come from any other source. Sure, being a mother is a demanding life. Yes, it wears me out. There are even times that I feel like I'm trapped inside a prison of dirty dishes and laundry and crying toddlers, but even the worst days are filled with moments of incredible joy and love, and awe and amazement that I have been chosen to be a mother, which is truly the greatest title one could ever hope to have.

Another Non-Crazy, Crazy Outing

I think our church outing on Sunday gave me some sort of crazy confidence, because today I decided to take them out to a movie! What?! Yep. The Lego Movie in 3D. Luckily, we had the entire theater to ourselves. Awesome. (That was my son's favorite word even before the movie. And now my daughter sings it "awesome! awwwwwesome!" It's adorable.) The lady at the ticket counter gave us 3 pairs of 3D glasses and said "I don't know if she'll keep them on or not, but here ya go." Oh yes, she'll keep them on. The girl LOVES accessories! And she did! They stayed on until maybe the last 30 minutes when both kids were getting restless (even though they were very intrigued with the movie, they just couldn't sit still any longer). They started exploring the theater. Starting small, just walking back and forth on the row we were on, until eventually my son decided he wanted to sit closer to watch the movie ALL BY HIMSELF. Then, during the end credits there was a full on dance party as well as a marathon. I was laughing so hard and wishing it wasn't so dark so I could get it all on video! The boy would run at TOP SPEED (which is surprisingly fast and serious), then climb the steps to the top, run across the back row, down the steps, and repeat. And repeat. And repeat...you get the idea. I'm glad I decided to ignore the housework today and just do something fun. It was a total risk taking them on my own, but in motherhood, as in life, sometimes you just have to jump in feet first! And more importantly, sometimes you have to leave the mess behind and just do something FUN with your kids. Those are the childhood memories they will cherish forever.

Priorities