Unexpected gifts

Ahhhh. All of the children are sleeping soundly. It is very very cold. Iain is out of town. And tomorrow is Day 3 of no school because of ice. To say I am wiped is an understatement. I have not left the house since I picked up Duncan from school on Monday at 3:00. So, we are going on 72 hours of togetherness. A common theme I have noticed, among my mom friends, on Facebook and blogs is chatting about being home with our kids and having no where to go. But, not really in a bad way. It is hard to be at home with young children. They can be very draining. You do not have any time to turn it off. You are always on as mom. If I want to go to the bathroom, by myself, I either have to go quickly before one of them can catch me and follow me in or risk one, two or three of them following me in there. Once in there, they all start to wreak havoc in different ways. Going for the toothbrushes, wanting the toilet paper, getting in the shower, etc..and that's just the tip of the iceberg. So, three solid days alone with them with no backup (hubs is traveling...ice on the roads...home-bound) is a little scary. Fortunately, it's come one day at a time instead of someone saying, "hey, the roads are going to be really icy and you are going to be home with your kids for three days!"

However comma, I have been struck by what a gift these days have been. I know that there will come a time when Duncan, and Claire and Finn, are old enough that they don't want to hang out with me and have dance parties, or lie on the couch under a blanket and watch movies, or have pretend birthday parties. They will not hang on my every word, and my every movement. This, the way things are right now, will pass. I do not want to look back and wish I'd slowed down and done things differently.

So being home with no where to go has forced us to slow our pace. We aren't a terribly fast-paced family to begin with. We don't (currently) do any outside activities besides church...no sports, no lessons. If it's a weekend, we are usually at home if we aren't spending it with family. But during the week, we do go to the Y and perhaps friends homes or the park if the weather is good. But this week? Nuthin. And it's been good. It's been a gift.