Let’s see, what are things like lately?
Well, we’ve had lots of broken sleep on account of the boys. I can feel the effects of sleep deprivation. Thankfully, the last two nights have been a fair bit better, but this is probably not the beginning of a pattern. I can hope though!
Our house—where do I begin? I’ve almost given up on trying to keep up with housework. Clutter punctuates every room, some worse than others. Baby stuff is everywhere. Some is organized, some is simply there. No sooner do we straighten a room out then it’s back to its original state. Makes me pretty hesitant about opening our house to company, especially when clutter covers furniture, leaving precious few places for people to sit!
And yet.
There are two little creatures that have invaded our homes, our lives, and our hearts. Both are unique. Neither is like the other. Their differences are pretty clear. These two boys—Henry and Eli—are unspeakably amazing. Even I can’t fully appreciate their beauty. They evoke wonder. I have two sons! Isn’t that a crazy thought?
Adjustment remains. Our little girl has definitely been feeling the stress of having two infant siblings taking time and attention and energy away from her. She’s not really the jealous type—her feelings come out in other ways: frustration, disobedience, strong-headedness, asserting herself. But still, she’s been an amazing big sister. In fact, she’s an amazing little girl: full of feelings, thoughtful and smart, a silly tease.
And then there’s my wife, more attached to the boys then either Ella or I. I mean that pretty much in a literal sense since she’s nursing. She handles the varying moods and fusses of these two little boys with astounding grace and love. While it’s not always easy pulling yourself out of bed in the middle of the night to care for them, not once have I heard her complain. Motherhood comes as naturally to her as breathing. Very much deserving of a break for all that she does—course, I’m deathly afraid of being left with all three kids at this point!
Me? Not as tired as I was for the first half of the week. Wishing we had a cleaner, neater house. Looking forward to getting into more of a routine as a family. I confess sometimes my patience is not as deep as that of my wife’s. Over these last couple of weeks, it’s been strained a few times. Lack of sleep doesn’t affect me in pleasant ways.
With new kids in the home, it’s astonishing how much time it takes to just take care of them. It’s not a surprise that so little housework gets done. When much of your time is consumed by feeding, cleaning, changing, soothing, holding, settling down, and otherwise being with your new sons (still a thought that has yet to fully hit me, I think!), doing dishes, laundry, sweeping floors(much less mopping them!), dusting, organizing clutter, etc. become luxury items in the catalogue of life.
Oh well. At some point you do have to let go. At some point I have to let go; that is, I have to let go of my relatively obsessive need to clean house. I have to relinquish control. I have to admit to defeat—I can’t do it all, at least not without driving myself nuts. To gain more, I have to be satisfied with less.
Since Spring is now here and the weather and our days are beginning to reflect this seasonal truth more frequently, we can start getting out more as a family (though it takes the better part of a day to get us ready to go out!). We’ve got a nifty double stroller for the twins, a tricycle for our girl, and feet for us. And this is important—it can get a little claustrophobic when you’re a family of five in our house! I’m just grateful the thaw has begun.
And what else? People at our church have been generous and supportive, especially since they haven’t even met the boys yet! Being preemies, we’ve sort of kept them under wraps and limited human contact. I’d have had them at church the first week home if possible—but I wisely listen to my wife. Hopefully on Easter Sunday will be the first occasion for going to church as a family again.
All of this is part of the process. This is life. Frustration usually occurs when I fail to accept the unchangeable or the inevitable, when things aren’t how I would like them to be. But how I would like things to be isn’t always possible. Truth is, I have so much to be thankful for and can so easily forget that. Isn’t that bizarre? I have two new sons, yet there are moments when I forget to be grateful for simply that. Lord, have mercy.
Anyway, this is it for now. Time to end the rambling. Time to move on for the rest of the day, like breakfast, being with family, maybe listening to Stuart MacLean and the Vinyl Cafe on CBC. Later I will be finishing my sermon (nearly done!) and getting a couple of other things ready for church tomorrow. And perhaps at some stage, I will get at least a couple of rooms straightened up—and try not to feel too frustrated if that doesn’t happen!
Well, we’ve had lots of broken sleep on account of the boys. I can feel the effects of sleep deprivation. Thankfully, the last two nights have been a fair bit better, but this is probably not the beginning of a pattern. I can hope though!
Our house—where do I begin? I’ve almost given up on trying to keep up with housework. Clutter punctuates every room, some worse than others. Baby stuff is everywhere. Some is organized, some is simply there. No sooner do we straighten a room out then it’s back to its original state. Makes me pretty hesitant about opening our house to company, especially when clutter covers furniture, leaving precious few places for people to sit!
And yet.
There are two little creatures that have invaded our homes, our lives, and our hearts. Both are unique. Neither is like the other. Their differences are pretty clear. These two boys—Henry and Eli—are unspeakably amazing. Even I can’t fully appreciate their beauty. They evoke wonder. I have two sons! Isn’t that a crazy thought?
Adjustment remains. Our little girl has definitely been feeling the stress of having two infant siblings taking time and attention and energy away from her. She’s not really the jealous type—her feelings come out in other ways: frustration, disobedience, strong-headedness, asserting herself. But still, she’s been an amazing big sister. In fact, she’s an amazing little girl: full of feelings, thoughtful and smart, a silly tease.
And then there’s my wife, more attached to the boys then either Ella or I. I mean that pretty much in a literal sense since she’s nursing. She handles the varying moods and fusses of these two little boys with astounding grace and love. While it’s not always easy pulling yourself out of bed in the middle of the night to care for them, not once have I heard her complain. Motherhood comes as naturally to her as breathing. Very much deserving of a break for all that she does—course, I’m deathly afraid of being left with all three kids at this point!
Me? Not as tired as I was for the first half of the week. Wishing we had a cleaner, neater house. Looking forward to getting into more of a routine as a family. I confess sometimes my patience is not as deep as that of my wife’s. Over these last couple of weeks, it’s been strained a few times. Lack of sleep doesn’t affect me in pleasant ways.
With new kids in the home, it’s astonishing how much time it takes to just take care of them. It’s not a surprise that so little housework gets done. When much of your time is consumed by feeding, cleaning, changing, soothing, holding, settling down, and otherwise being with your new sons (still a thought that has yet to fully hit me, I think!), doing dishes, laundry, sweeping floors(much less mopping them!), dusting, organizing clutter, etc. become luxury items in the catalogue of life.
Oh well. At some point you do have to let go. At some point I have to let go; that is, I have to let go of my relatively obsessive need to clean house. I have to relinquish control. I have to admit to defeat—I can’t do it all, at least not without driving myself nuts. To gain more, I have to be satisfied with less.
Since Spring is now here and the weather and our days are beginning to reflect this seasonal truth more frequently, we can start getting out more as a family (though it takes the better part of a day to get us ready to go out!). We’ve got a nifty double stroller for the twins, a tricycle for our girl, and feet for us. And this is important—it can get a little claustrophobic when you’re a family of five in our house! I’m just grateful the thaw has begun.
And what else? People at our church have been generous and supportive, especially since they haven’t even met the boys yet! Being preemies, we’ve sort of kept them under wraps and limited human contact. I’d have had them at church the first week home if possible—but I wisely listen to my wife. Hopefully on Easter Sunday will be the first occasion for going to church as a family again.
All of this is part of the process. This is life. Frustration usually occurs when I fail to accept the unchangeable or the inevitable, when things aren’t how I would like them to be. But how I would like things to be isn’t always possible. Truth is, I have so much to be thankful for and can so easily forget that. Isn’t that bizarre? I have two new sons, yet there are moments when I forget to be grateful for simply that. Lord, have mercy.
Anyway, this is it for now. Time to end the rambling. Time to move on for the rest of the day, like breakfast, being with family, maybe listening to Stuart MacLean and the Vinyl Cafe on CBC. Later I will be finishing my sermon (nearly done!) and getting a couple of other things ready for church tomorrow. And perhaps at some stage, I will get at least a couple of rooms straightened up—and try not to feel too frustrated if that doesn’t happen!
2 comments:
Yes, lack of sleep doesn't do my disposition much good either ;) And you have this to look forward to - as they get older, it will only take 1/4 of the day to get everyone ready to leave the house, haha! Praying you guys get some good rest and that God will be your joy and strength each day. Lots of love from me :)
Ah, I remember those days when I'd forget to sweep the floor for a week. Priorities, right? Just remember that they only stay this young for a heartbeat; housework can come later. Everyone who has been there understands! I'm enjoying reading about how everything is going. Looking forward to meeting them someday soon. :)
Post a Comment