Sleep Deprived

This post is not for the faint at heart. If #2 or throw-up stories bother you...quit reading. But if they make you laugh and feel better about your own experience as a parent, then read on!

I've noticed that with mothering, my day is constantly about making choices regarding what is the most critical need at any particular moment. It may be simply the difference between doing a load of laundry or reading my child a book. I frequently ask myself, "What is most important right now, and what things can wait for a few minutes?" Every once in a while, though, more of a "crisis" situation emerges, in which everything seems critical & the situation can get interesting. That's what happened this morning.

Wednesday is grocery shopping day, and we were at Wal-Mart. As we checked out, I realized Jared had a dirty diaper. No biggie. I figured this could wait until we got home in 5 or 10 minutes. I know it's gross, but it was just a ton easier since we were almost done.

Then we get home. I unload the boys from the car and am about to put Kyle in his crib for a nap, when Jared grabs my leg and starts throwing up everywhere. Here's where it gets interesting.

My list of things to do just went from putting Kyle down & unloading groceries, to (in no particular order) putting Kyle down, unloading groceries, stripping the clothes off of Jared, laundry, bath, cleaning up the carpet, cleaning the tile, mopping, and keeping Hannah out of the way.

So, I start making choices..."What is the most critical need?" I lock Hannah in a bedroom so she won't "help" clean up the mess. (Why do dogs do this?!?) I strip off Jared's clothes, quickly clean up a little bit of the mess, and put Kyle in his crib. At this point I make the choice to unload groceries. I mean it's kind of gross, I know that Jared just threw-up everywhere, but I really need to get the cold stuff in the fridge and freezer. I figure taking a couple of minutes to do this won't make the problem any worse. Wrong.

As I'm going back and forth from the van to the house, I notice Jared's tummy looks dirty. I had already taken his dirty shirt off, and I was hoping he hadn't thrown up again. I didn't think that much about it because in less than 5 minutes we were headed to the bathtub anyway, so I figured he was fine. (You know where this is going don't you??)

A minute later as I'm still dealing with groceries, I look down at Jared's back. I now know the source of the mysterious "dirt" on Jared's stomach. You've got it...his diaper was sagging down and he was finger-painting his tummy with #2. So. Not. Cool.

Groceries were abandoned and then it was off to the bath. On the way I grab a magazine and reheat my cup of 3-hours-old coffee so that after the mess is gone I can have a few minutes of sanity while Jared enjoyed an extra long bath. (Choosing to save my sanity is sometimes the most critical need, too!)

Then it's back to the groceries. :-) And mopping. And laundry. But, I feel certain that the most pressing need of the afternoon will be a nap!

What's so interesting to me is the timing of this whole shenanigan. God likes to use object lessons, doesn't He? You see, this week in Bible study I was reading about the effects of the Curse on our world and on humanity. I want to write a quote that I find so appropriate:

Murphy's law is familiar--"If anything can go wrong it will go wrong, and at the worst possible moment."...We usually find these [situations] amusing. Their humor is a testimony to two things. One, it is a testimony to the curse. Everybody knows that the curse exists. We all have experienced things going wrong at crucial moments. Yet, the fact that we are still laughing is a great evidence of God's grace. If the curse were as bad as it could be, none of us would be here, sitting up straight, let alone laughing. We laugh only because we understand--at least subliminally--both the curse and its limits."

Thank goodness for God's grace that allows me to be so thankful for my children (even ones that are throwing up!), see His faithful hand in my life through all situations, and allows me to laugh when things go wrong.