The Sting of Friendship

Thursday morning was just a typical start to a day in the Evatt house. Wesley and I were scrambling around trying to get kids up, dressed, fed, and on their way to school. Nate and Marleigh, obviously not in school, were doing their usual meandering around the house, taking note of all that had been cleaned since the previous night and plotting how to make an even bigger mess than the day before. Knowing that it was going to be a beautiful day, I put the diapers outside to dry and evidently let an intruder in as well; a wasp! Showing interest in our morning meal, Wesley was determined to put the small creature to death. One small problem; no fly swat! In these instances in our home, you always grab the next best thing; a shoe. Lucky for Wesley, the wasp landed on the floor and there was no need to even take his shoe off. He stomped it, and we went about our hurried morning routine.

It was no time before Nate found the poor wasp on the floor. He was intrigued! All he could say was "bug" over and over and OVER again very excitedly! It was cute, honestly! He befriended the dead creature and sat down beside it as if to have a chat about his plans for the day. The absolute most adorable thing was his offer of food to the "bug". Nate would never let a friend go hungry. He laid three crackers on the floor beside the "bug". Wesley and I watched the whole thing play out and even had a conversation about how we dreaded the first time that our children would have to feel the pain of a bee sting. For "normal" parents, this would usually be the cue to get the wasp out of the floor and out the door! You must always keep in mind though that we are FAR from normal! We were rather enjoying watching Nate's new friendship develop!

Before we could enjoy too long of a quality chat, the bus pulled to the drive, and we went into "rush mode" again, seeing that Juana made it to the bus and keeping Bella on track to be off to school on time. Nate however, desired to be a typical boy (which I will NEVER get used to), and "reach out" to his friend in need and "make" him enjoy the snack provided. As we were gathered in the living room, performing the dreaded task of brushing Bella's hair(and yes, on certain days that takes the two of us!), Nate excitedly bounced into the living room! However, his shrills of excitement only lasted momentarily and then changed to shrills of pain! Yep, you guessed it! The wasp fell from his hand as he ran to me, and here we were in the middle of a moment we had just discussed 15 minutes prior.

He recovered nicely, and like most boys, he was back to his normal self within minutes. He seemingly cursed the "bug" throughout the rest of the day though each time he looked at his thumb and realized the pain. His limited 2 yr. vocabulary would only allow him to continually repeat, "BUG HURT"!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Today was Nate's 2nd birthday! It also was the mark of our intermediate cycle of family birthdays! This year, Marleigh will turn one, Nate two, Bella 5, and me and Wesley will just be older! Being a mom to babies is already becoming a distant memory. I recently received the invite to my 10 year high school reunion, so if I seem a bit distant or grumpy, it could be because reality is smacking me in the face! It could also be from the horror of the conversation with my hubby the other day in which we discussed the possibilities of purchasing a minivan! *GASP* I, like many my age, have faithfully pledged from middle school age to NEVER be a "minivan momma". I also have to constantly resist the urge wear a housecoat, purchase my first pair of readers, and eat prunes to ensure I've had enough fiber for the day! With each passing day, our children are growing and learning at exponential rates, and I struggle just to keep up! It's shocking to me, but not only am I a mom already, but I'm quickly becoming the older mom. You know, the one people call for advice with THEIR babies! How could this be? This wasn't supposed to happen to me! For some reason I thought time would freeze for me around the age of 25. I really never thought past that stage in life! I used to laugh to myself in my younger years when I would hear adults discussing how time just seemed to move faster and faster with each passing year. And now, here I am at the tender age of 27, not only fully understanding that statement but also wondering how on earth I will survive the rest of my time on this earth if it will seemingly get even faster!! Heaven help! At that point in life I was trying to rush everything along! Life couldn't happen fast enough! I was so stinkin paranoid that the Lord would return before I would have the opportunity to be married and have kids, and now here I am praying daily, in the midst of my beautiful mess, for the Lord to hurry it up! So how does one handle this sudden awakening of time and age? One moment at a time I suppose! Living IN each moment and living it to it's fullest! I hope I can say that at the end of this next blink! I want to be fully present in every moment of my life, knowing that no matter how crazy it seems, it can only be used for God's glory as I allow Him to work in my life! So let the good times roll! I may break every oath I ever took in middle school about the person I would someday be, but I sure am having the time of my life with the loves of my life with each passing day! What phase of life are you currently in?