I’m Blessed

It’s Monday, isn’t it?  It’s the morning I fight being grumpy more than others.  This morning I’m in no rush to start the day.  I know I should be, but I’m not.  The passivity is my way of fighting the grumpies.

First, I came downstairs and starting doctoring up my coffee.  Solveig was screaming my name because she thinks that’s fun lately.  She doesn’t want to be held or anything.  She just likes saying “Mamma!!” So I yelled back that she needed to sit down in her chair before she fell down.

Next I changed Ingrid, and Knut took her so I could have both hands to eat breakfast.  He was also trying to manage some sort of Lego dispute with the boys.  Apparently there is one set of wheels that’s amazing, and another set of wheels that are awful, terrible, and all things bad.  Elias had the good set of wheels on his Lego car, which left David in the position of having to use the “bad” set of wheels on his Lego car, though if you ask me I could not tell you which set is which.  Anyway, this disagreement involved stomping and more yelling.  Knut handled it really well.  He’s the morning guy.

So I ate my bowl of homemade granola with craisins, my breakfast most every morning.  The sun was coming in crazy-bright into the kitchen, so I eat in the den on the couch with the lights off.  Sometimes dark feels peaceful.  I’m looking out the window which faces the woods and our woodpile at the back of the house.  I see 2 large rabbits chasing each other around the wood pile.  Then I see about 3 little bunnies scamper around with them.  I haven’t seen the little ones yet.  This makes me smile, and I’m in no mood to rush on.

Ingrid is hungry again, so I feed her until she falls asleep for her morning nap and then lay her down in her little bed by the warm fire.  She wakes up a bit when I lay her down, so I give her the pacifier, and stroke her face as she smiles at me contentedly and after about 5 minutes of face stroking, is fast asleep again.

So as you can see, it’s a pretty boring morning around here.  David finally got started on the morning dishes, and Silje has started her piano practice.  Today will be a holiday-recovery day as Easter yesterday was so much fun.  We actually got a ton done this weekend.  I’ve made huge leaps and bounds around the house.

The end of last week I finally got myself to a chiropractor…for the first time in my life…ever.  My back and neck have been sore ever since Ingrid was born.  My headaches that I normally get monthly were coming weekly.  I was thinking I’d just start feeling better after rest, but rest was so hard to get.  So I asked about 5 different people to recommend a chiropractor to me, and they all recommended the same guy, so I made an appointment.

I absolutely “clicked” with the guy (no pun intended) but I honestly didn’t notice a huge difference that day.  It wasn’t until I went to sleep that night.  As my pillow hit the bed, I nearly gasped in joy over how much pain I was NOT in.  I had no idea I had been hurting that much until all the pain was gone.  I fell asleep after about 30 seconds, which is not normal for me.  Every position was just so comfortable.

The next day I was able to move like I haven’t in a few years.  I hadn’t even realized that I’ve been calculating in my head which chores I could get done which days depending on how exhausted I would feel.  Should I vacuum upstairs?  No, because that will “wear me out” so much that I won’t be able to make that big supper tonight.  I’ll vacuum tomorrow when I just have leftovers to heat up afterward, so then I’ll be able to sit and rest awhile after hauling that vacuum upstairs, pushing it around and bringing it back downstairs.

I just felt like I must be a weakling.  I can’t seem to get anything done, and I’m just so tired and sore all the time.  That’s just the mom package, right?  I had decided that moms must feel sore and tired and overwhelmed all the time and it never occurred to me that maybe my pelvic joints haven’t come together again properly after birth, and maybe that’s causing all the soreness and pain up my back, which then made every project seem overwhelming.  I was honestly thinking, that maybe I was just getting older.  Maybe stiffness was just a part of the package.

I forgot how good it feels to feel good.  I forgot what deep sleep felt like.  Seriously, I am randomly smiling over it throughout the day.

I have a follow up appointment tomorrow, and after talking with him about it, I’m having him take a look at 2 of my kids as well.  Solveig especially has been waking up at night regularly for almost half a year now.  We cannot figure it out.  People say it’s probably night terrors, but she doesn’t seem scared when she wakes up.  She seems to be hurting, but not in a sharp scream sort of way, but a moaning sort of way.  It could just be 2 year molars, but it’s been months and months.  She’s also starting to reach that lovely “whining” phase, and although I know it might just be the stage she’s in, I can’t shake the feeling that she doesn’t seem to be feeling right, though we can find nothing wrong.

The chiropractor asked me if Solveig has ever had any big falls.  Yes, she has.  She’s my climber and we’ve taken her to the emergency room twice in her 2 years of life.  It had never occurred to me that she might need to see a chiropractor after those falls.  So I’m bringing her and David with me tomorrow to see try out some chiropractor care for kids, which is a really, REALLY new concept for me.

So I guess today is a ramble of Monday thoughts.  I always feel guilty when I do that for some reason.  I guess I’m feeling so grateful this morning for the lack of rushing.  I’m grateful for my husband who always makes me coffee.  I’m so grateful I’ve found some good chiropractic care and don’t feel so overwhelmed by the thought of getting stuff done anymore.

I’m thankful for Christ rising from the grave most of all, and has made the ultimate sacrifice so that I may have grace, and have it so abundantly.  I’m thankful for a church family to celebrate with, in-laws who wrap love around my kids and make holidays fun, and slow mornings where I get to watch bunnies chase each other outside.

I’m thankful that we can postpone “school” to catch up on our nature journals which my kids categorize “just for fun” and is not “school.”  I’m thankful for friends who have been such an encouragement to me this last week.  I laugh because they only consider subjects they don’t like as “school” and they still think the majority of their day is not “school.”  I’m so blessed that they love their job of learning so much, even though this homeschooling thing isn’t like what I thought it would be at all.  It’s so much better.  I still want to hide whenever they tell people “we really don’t do that much school.”

I’m coming up on my 1,000th blog post this next week.  I had some big plans to celebrate, and have been a bit bummed that it won’t work.  I’m trying hard to think of something else cool to do.  I’m asking myself, what do I want to say on my 1,000th post?  I know for sure it will involve how much I feel blessed to be able to have this outlet, this platform to live my life for Christ in the most honest way I can.  I’m so blessed.