This October, however, has provided more tricks than treats. My oldest (age 3) is refusing to poop. Sixteen days is the record and she is currently on day 10 of new withhold. In the middle of that both kids got the croup. A croup which hung on until it brought pneumonia and an ear infection.
In response to this, I invited a dear friend over for dinner Friday night. We stayed at the table talking while my husband took the kids to shower and get ready for bed. As we enjoyed a glass of wine and good conversation, we heard the sound of dripping water. Yep, the upstairs shower was draining into the kitchen sink. That put a pretty abrupt end to everyone's night.
On Saturday morning, my husband took the kids to the gym so I could actually enjoy getting ready and dry my hair (a rare feat these days). I had to shower in the kids Jack and Jill bathroom. I was actually looking forward to a small, quiet room with no windows. I turned off the lights, shut the door, and enjoyed the silence. I was feeling refreshed and ready to take on the rest of October. And you know what? The door was locked. Yep, when we replaced the door knobs somehow this one got placed backwards, and my son who loves to push buttons, locked it.
The next hour was spent sitting on the floor of my now sauna waiting for my husband and kids to get home. I had time to panic, time to try to pull the door open, and then time to relax and just be. During my time I came to realize that my kiddos weren't sick at all last year, and even though they coughed a lot it didn't seem to interfere with their days. I realized that my youngest is doing great with his fine-motor skills since he could lock the door, and my husband was wonderful enough to take them so I could have a few (well more than I expected) minutes alone. And on top of it all, I had time to relax and meditate. Time to realize that we all have our own crazy worlds. Worlds that sometimes keep going opposite of the road we have planned. But the goal is to keep pushing through because soon those blue skies and sick-free days will return. (And hopefully with a new non-leaking shower!)
Hope your Halloween is filled with treats!
Jessica
