Mother Natures Lessons

It was one of those weeks where:

-every child seems a bit louder

-every baby seems to cry a bit harder

-every room in the house seems smaller

-every dish you clean seems dirtier

And naturally my mood falls in accordance with every mishap and trial placed in my path. I just couldn't cope. So in order to make things more toilsome I have to yell when the kids get loud, I have to get mad when the babies cry, I have to get frustrated with the house seems too small, I have to demand when the house gets messy. Difficult? Yes. Helpful? No.

As I made the mistaken choice to allow the situation to control me, I wondered how I was ever going to get out of this horrible mood I was in...

And that is when it happened...I woke up to the distressing news that school was canceled. Great, there goes my almost attempts at a better mood. I looked out the window and questioned, what could possibly be the cause of the distruption in my day. Rain.

You have got to be kidding me. Rain, that was it. After surviving many snowy storms in Utah and many rainy days in England, I began to slip right back into my continuous mood.

As the day wore on, I got the kids ready so I could take Madison to gymnastics. As we venture for the first time that day into the outdoors I soon realize why the decision to cancel school was made.

Ice. That is right! Instantly my thoughts race back to my 2nd grade science lessons. When water gets cold it turns into ice! Oh yeah. Every tree was covered, every limb was gently wrapped in the ice crystal formations. A beautiful sight to behold.

As we scurry back inside I remember what comes next. When we lived in Ohio we endured many ice storms which all resulted in power failure. So I waited and prepared.

The following morning it happened. As we woke up we did so in freezing temperatures. Before I knew I had every child in my queen size bed struggling to keep warm. With Harvey being out of town I wondered what my next move was.

It was a no brainer. I grabbed my cell phone and called my friends, packed up the kids and headed over to their house. Blessed by this friendship they opened up their door to me and my 4 children, and she just having had a baby.

It took the remainder of the day for the power to return and as we once again entered our apartment I realized how grateful I was for something I took for granted every single day. Hot water, light, cold food, a warm house, warm food, and even knowing that with just one glance I can turn my head towards the microwave and see the time of day.

With this rush of gratitude came an instant change of attitude. My everso gloom outlook became happy, energetic, overjoyed and positive. When just 24 hours ago I was wondering how I was ever going to get out of my slump now I look gratefully out the window and thank mother nature for stepping in. She reminded me of what is important in this life and the only way I could learn was apparently the hard way. She taught me when the big things in life get hard you need to look to the small things and appreciate. So thank you, mother nature for educating; just one more role that all mothers must play.