picking up the eggshells

with children in tow even the most minuscule of tasks can quickly become an exercise in patience, strength, and endurance.

exhibit a) picking mia up from school today

when it came time to get mia from school i had already woken up to a storm of ants in the kitchen, survived levi's tantrumming at the university bookstore, and discovered that the a/c in my car no longer gets cool. at the school i unloaded the crew, repeatedly reminded katrice not to go inside the classroom, told miley to get her foot out of the drinking fountain and her finger out of her nose, retrieved mia, pried levi off the playground, and herded all the little sheep back into their car seats. with all the children safely stowed, we were on our way to katrices hair appointment. but wait, where is my phone? oh that's right, i left it sitting on the hood of my car. it was run over.

everyone in the car was tip-toeing around my frustration, choosing their words and actions more carefully than they should ever have to. mia, my sensitive soul, said "mom, i'm sorry you're having a bad day." followed by katrice saying "i am pologize" as she took hold of my hand. katrices over affection is usually so annoying, but today i simply enjoyed the feeling of her rough little hand in mine and let her gesture sweep the eggshells from the floor around me.

nothing that happened today was all that unusual or catastrophic. i just wish i could remember that when it's happening, instead of feeling like the world is coming to an end.