Rainy Day Challenge

 

Rainy days are a challenge.

 

The boys are creative, so they manage to entertain themselves. For a while…

 

But then it gets ugly…

 

 

Our house is in The Heights area of Little Rock. It’s an 1100-square foot bungalow with two bedrooms and one bath. And 8 people. Granted, six of them are relatively small, but the house shrinks quickly. Especially on rainy days.

Most days we get outside – go to a park, go climb a mountain, hit the Museum of Discovery, the zoo, and, soon, the swimming pool. This is to keep our sanity. But on rainy days all those options wash away with the sidewalk chalk, and entertainment options become slim.

But one joy of a large family is the ever-present playmate. As close as the quarters are in our house, the boys go crazy when they’re alone too long. No matter the mood, the rivalries, or the general atmosphere inside, they eventually find their way back to each other. Today it was through face paint and a wooden block obstacle course, specifically designed for Matchbox cars tied with yarn. 

People warn me I’ll miss these days, especially when adolescence rears it’s hideous face. And, on days like today, they’re right. It’s been one long, mostly peaceful day watching our boys do what they do best – be brothers.

Parenting. Or Chinese Water Torture

Most days start like Leave it to Beaver. We’re happy to see our boys – genuinely happy when they wake up – and we greet them like this:

“Good morning. How are you today?” (Hug)
“Hey pal! How’d you sleep?” (Hug)
“What can I get you for breakfast?” (Hug)
“Want some juice?” (Double hug)
“I love you so much!” (Hug, snuggle, hug, hug)
“I’m so excited and thinking positive thoughts about our day!” (Family hug, maybe a song)

And here’s how our nights end:

“No! I said do NOT come out of your room!”
“Lay down! You already went to the bathroom eight times!”
“Too bad, you should have eaten more dinner!”
“I’m not kidding, if you get out of bed one more time…”
“DID YOU SERIOUSLY GET OUT OF BED AGAIN?”
“I know it’s dark! It’s called NIGHT TIME!”

So what happens between breakfast and bed time?

Most days it’s nothing especially catastrophic. Nothing traumatic. Nothing overwhelming or requiring an ER visit.

Just a Slow. Constant. Drip.

“Mommy!”

Drip.

“Give it back!”

Drip.

“Do I have to eat this?”

Drip.

“I accidentally (fill in anything you’d like)”

Drip.

“I need to go potty. Never mind.”

Drip.

“Stop it!”

Drip.

“Oops.”

Drip.

“That’s not fair!”

Drip.

“Why does HE get to…?”

Drip.

Diaper changes.

Drip.

Meal time.

Drip.

The crying.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

You get the idea.

Raising boys is awesome, adventurous, and just plain fun most days. But there’s not a parent in the world who hasn’t felt the slow constant drip of the daily parenting grind. From what I’ve gathered it doesn’t get any easier; the drips often turn to leaks and sometimes, despite our best efforts, full-fledged disasters. This parenting business is no joke.

But can you imagine life without them?

(Okay, fine, you CAN imagine life without them. I’ll give you a second in that happy place).
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Now, do you WANT life without them? I didn’t think so.

Here’s the great part: while we sleep tonight, the plug will be pulled as all those drips wash down the drain and disappear into who knows where. And all of today’s exasperated exhaustion will miraculously respawn tomorrow as pure joy for another day with our six beautiful, infuriating boys.

So to all you parents out there, you’re not alone. We all want to do better. We all wish we had handled that situation with more grace and less growling. We all wish we had more time, more energy, more intentionality, more organization, more spinach. We all regret something. We all fear what our children might become. We all feel inadequate.

We all feel the drip.

But tomorrow’s a new day. Be a little better than you were today, that’s really the best we can aim for. And grab your umbrella; those drips are coming!