Life Lessons

We have a lot of fun in our family. We go on walks, go to fun places, play games, and generally enjoy each other's company. I think it is so important to have these times together, especially considering how quickly time seems to go.

On Sunday night, we had a rare occurrence of an "official" Family Home Evening, complete with opening and closing prayers and songs. I was assigned the lesson, and decided it was a good time to talk about our family. We talked about five things that we like to do as a family and 5 things that we could improve on as a family. In the improving part, I said it would be nice to remember to be kind with our words to each other. When we are having a bad day, or our brother or sister is bugging the heck out of us, stop and think before we speak. If I only knew....

Monday morning dawned and I had to take our minivan into the dealership for some repairs. This minivan has been in the shop more times than I can remember and it is never a "Cheap" fix. So I dropped it off and crossed my fingers, hoping for the best.

The courtesy shuttle brought me back home to await the dreaded phone call with the estimate...and I was informed by my daughter that the freezer was not working. I opened it to find a river of melted goo.

Wow...really??

I called Sears to set up a repair visit. The soonest they could come was the next day (today) and I am currently awaiting the repairman's arrival. I have a warm, empty refrigerator and freezer. I had to toss out a lot of good food. Very sad!

So, as I was walking the kids to and from karate (thank goodness it is close) I was feeling pretty picked on. I plopped down on the couch and covered my face with my hands. Tired, sweaty, thirsty (and no ice!) and grouchy.

Guess what? My kids turned the day around for me.

Joshua sat next to me on the couch, laid his head on me and said, "I really love you, mom."

Nicholas and Jaycie thanked me for walking them to karate so they could go to their class.

Nicholas made the observation , "It must be really hard to have three kids and be a good mom, right?"

Nope, because at the end of the day, be it a good day or a terrible one, I still have the three greatest kids and most amazing, hardworking husband to be with. I don't think I'm the world's greatest mom, but I sure do have a great family.