It is another morning of rushing to get out the door. I purposely start this process 30-45 minutes ahead of time to cut down on the stress, and the yelling. There is something about having to ask twelve times for shoes and coats to be put on that turns me into a seriously “mean mommy”. Why should a 3 year old understand the concept of being late when she can't even tell time? That makes sense to me now but not so much this morning as she fought me to take off her bright pink tutu and wear shoes other than rain boots that were two sizes too small. Somehow I am able to get her screaming little body strapped into her carseat and start speeding down the road. I think about the Tuesday we have ahead of us and stop to realize the date....January 22nd.
Suddenly I am taken back to a year ago when I lie in my bed to read the news that my dear friend and co-worker has lost her eighteen year old daughter in a car accident. There were no adequate words for my friend then, and there are none now. “I'm praying”, were all I had and today, one year later, they are still all I have. It is only with God's strength that a mom could face another day after such loss. It is reminders such as these that I wish I didn't have but often need that set me back on course-the gratefulness course. If I were with my friend today, I am sure she would cringe to hear me complaining about the struggle of getting my baby girl to submit to the shoes and jacket I have picked out for her in time to get to that next appointment. I am pretty sure she would encourage me to thank God for the gift of these precious years when she is testing and figuring out this world around her. She would likely be cheering me on to embrace the forming of her own opinions and exerting of her independence. Above all, she would say this life, her life is precious and don't ever take a moment of it for granted.
