Moms are awesome

Yesterday, as we found out that the boys would be staying with us for at least another week, Sara and I decided grocery shopping was top of the list. We stopped home and quickly made some grilled cheese sandwiches, then took the boys to the park while we made a list.

Once we got to the grocery store, B. took off for the carts. "Can I push?" he asked. His brother started to argue, he wanted to push. "You can take turns" I told them. They agreed, and we walked into the store, where B. promptly started zigzagging through the aisles making me wonder why I thought it might be a good idea to a) take an 11 and 14 year old boy grocery shopping and b) let the 11 year old push the cart.

We made it through the grocery store without any serious incidents, just some more zigzagging, some taking of items off of shelves and needing to be reminded to put them back where they were found, and a bit of cart-riding.

After walking home with all of our purchases, Sara and I started cooking. Tacos seemed pretty simple, but put 9 people into the equation, and nothing is simple anymore. Dinner was finally on the table, there was lots of laughter and smiles as we ate, and then the kids and Stephen's parents offered to clean up (well, I think Stephen's parents offered. We asked the kids to help).

Me, Stephen, Sara, and Gonzalo went upstairs to figure out how we were going to work things out- rules, schedules, who takes B to school at 6:30, who picks him up and drops of C. at 11:45, if C could come back alone or who should pick him up, bedtime. . . Once we got things worked out, we called in the boys to let them know what this week will look like.

Finally, we sent the boys off to bed and had some time to collect ourselves. I looked at my watch. It was after 9.

These boys are good. They help cook, they wash the dishes, they are friendly and polite, they do as they're told. And, I'm not doing this alone, or even with just 1 other person. Stephen and Sara and Gonzalo all are taking responsibility. And Stephen's parents are here right now and more than willing to pitch in with cooking and cleaning.

But I'm still tired. It's a big responsibility to have 2 young people you need to be guiding, disciplining, getting to school on time, taking care of the colds they have, cooking for, encouraging, checking homework . . .

And I've only been doing this for 4 days.

I don't know how moms do it. Week after week, month after month, year after year. That awareness that what you're doing is important and you can't afford to mess up. The busyness that having children adds to a schedule.

So, to all the moms reading this post, especially my own, thank you. Thank you for shopping and cooking night after night. Thank you for letting the to-do list slide sometimes so we could talk and color and play in the park. Thank you for setting limits and encouraging and teaching and taking us to the 101 activities that we had. Thank you for being moms.

And to the dads out there- thank you too. For your love and patience and presence in your kids lives.

And to all of those out there who aren't parents- jumping into substitute parenting with pre-teen and teen-age boys just 1 week after taking a new job position with more responsibilities and while living in a house where there are still 100 things on the to-do list (you know, like fixing the cold shower, and over head lights, and enough chairs and plates for everyone in the family) is awesome. I'm loving it. Our house is more alive. Their smiles and jokes make us all happy. Cooking for a crew might be more work than just cooking for me, but sitting down as a family and enjoying a meal together and taking pleasure in other people enjoying what I made is worth it. It is also just a tad bit overwhelming. Or maybe a lot. . .