be present...

today started out with only one thing on our agenda...a swim lesson for Jake at 9am. 

i was blissfully basking in my semi-concious state of awakening...hugging my pillow and enjoying my last few moments of rest before i needed to get up and dressed for the day.  the sun gently peering through the blinds...teasing me with it's warmth and brightness.  this is usually my favorite time of the morning...

that is, until my middle son Stephen burst into my room proclaiming that i had forgotten to remind him to put on an overnight pull-up before bed last night, and now he was soaking wet!  UGH! there went my blissfull morning, and i struggled to make sense of this intrusion.

i finally got my senses together and drudgingly got out of my cozy bed to help him clean up.  well, he wasn't just a "little" wet, but drenched in pee from head to toe!  BLECH! i don't know how he managed to do that!
so, into the shower he went.  while he was washing, i stripped his bedding; even his pillow didn't make it past the "wetting!"  i just threw everything, including the pillow into a laundry basket and told myself that i would deal with it later.

as stephen was drying and dressing, my youngest son Jake woke up.  all sleepy-eyed and warm from his bed, he came into the bathroom asking, "mommy? is it morning yet?"  how precious was he?! 
the moment i told him "yes," his sleepy eyes were immediately transformed into those bright, vibrant, blue-green discs i've come to love!!  man! i wish i could wake up like that everyday!

Jake gleefully scampered to his dresser to pick out his outfit for the day and proceeded to get dressed without any hesitation :)

while all these "goings on" were unfolding, my eldest son nick slept.  i think he is my most sound sleeper!
as i shooed the other two downstairs, i left nick to sleep in a few moments longer.  i have to admit though, that i had another selfish reason for letting him sleep...COFFEE!!
i needed some really bad right about then!  HAHA!

the coffee was brewing and the breakfast was going...nothing fancy...just some corn pops & juice.
nick finally woke up and got himself dressed, and soon we were off to the Y for Jake's swim lesson.

Jake was happy to go, and when we got there was very excited about the whole thing.  however, when it came to getting in the pool, well...that was a different hill of beans alltogether!
he cried and screamed that he wasn't going in the pool.  that he would only sit on the steps.  so i said fine, sit on the steps.  but if you don't learn to swim, you cannot go to Disney with us because there are a lot of pools there.  yes, i used a threat!!  i don't feel sorry i did it either!!

he took hold of the barbell float and started to play...still sitting on the step.  the instructor came over and said "are you ready Jake?"  he shook his head no.  she proceeded to take him into the water anyway, and that's when the tears and screams echoed throughout the pool area.  oh the embarrassment! 
he screamed "mommy" for at least 2 laps!  i kept an encouraging smile on my face, and waved to him as he went by...it was killing me!

the third lap, i settled into myself and prayed to God to bring me peace, but most of all to bring Jake a calmness about the water.  half way through his third lap, he began to smile!  WOW! talk about instant answer to prayer!  i just sat in amazement!  and jake just paddled back and forth with his little barbell float the rest of the class!  awesome!
he later told me that he would NEVER EVER cry again during swim lessons!!!  while i would love to take that and run with it, i won't hold my breath!  i will take each day as it comes!

at home, the day went on pretty much as usual..snack, lunch, etc.  the boys got a bit lazy and were just lying around the living room, so i shooed them outside!  it was too beautiful to stay in.
i had to police them because they were climbing on the picnic table, and throwing the ball at each other (dodge ball style!), but at least they were out.

after a while, they wanted to play inside.  and started bickering and fighting and such.  as i cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast and lunch, stephen ran in and said someone had peed on the floor in the bathroom!  ugh!  calgon take me away!!!!  after cleaning that up, i decided to take my apple, water and magazines outside for a nice quiet moment of me time!

i sat in my chair, got comfortable and let my body just melt.  the sound of the wind bustling in the trees, the birds singing, the bees buzzing, it was just so peaceful.  i even managed NOT to fall asleep, and finished reading my MOMsense magazine. 

then my bubble was burst!  Jake had to run outside and let me know what a great fort he had built for his "baby" bear!  normally my mind would wander....but i had just finished reading an article about "being present."  it was so uplifting!  i sat there and studied jake's face while he told me of his adventure of building and exploring (even if it was just play).  i drank it all in!  He was so enthusiastic! he then ran back inside to finish his playtime with his bear.

i tried to get back to that moment of blissful rest, but try as i may, it just wasn't happening.  a lawn mower started up down the street, a dog started barking, a teen drove by with his rap music blarring out the open windows, and a distressed neighbor started yelling at her son.  so that was the end of mommy time.
i had to get ready for the neighbor boys to come over in another half hour, and i had to do the laundry that i had left earlier. 

no worries.  i can handle it.  and on and on i go.."being present."