On Acceptance

This past Sunday was a rough day for me. I was very low on sleep, there were some issues with my children's behavior at church, it snowed all day, the kids seemed particularly crazy and loud . . . and then this photo shows up in my e-mail.

My dad outside a Mayan temple in Belize.

He also sent a video of the beachside resort they were staying in, featuring palm trees, blue skies, and my mom relaxing on the patio of their private thatched hut. They're currently on vacation in Belize and Guatamala, and my dad has been very good about sending photos for me to show the kids, so we can follow along on their adventures.

I showed the video to A., making some remark about how it couldn't be much different from our current messy house/loud kids/perpetual snow situation, and he said something like, "Kind of wish you were there instead of here, huh?"

I reflected on that for awhile. And my reflections brought me to this: Yes, it would be nice to be relaxing beachside with a book and a cup of coffee (or something stronger . . .), but you know what? I am not 70 years old. That is not my current stage of life.

My parents weren't taking tropical vacations when they were 38 years old, either*. They were working, and shuttling their three children to various sports and activities, and listening to an awful lot of sibling fighting in a messy house.

They were, in short, pretty much where I am right now (minus the snow). That's reality. 

Messy house, messy paints, happy toddler. Daily life.

Our time will come for exotic trips without children, but that's not where we are right now. And that's okay. Where we are now is pretty good.

* Although we were living in Hawaii at the time, so they did spend a lot of time at the beach. However, I know firsthand how relaxing it is to go anywhere with three little kids, and I can't imagine the beach is any different. So it wasn't exactly the tropical vacation most people dream about.