Hats off to Elasti-girl

It was just a typical week.  No different than any other week.  Not harder than the week before and maybe easier than next week.  

A quick trip to soccer sign ups turned into a 2-hour affair complete with trips home for more documentation, three-year-old tantrums, lost shot records, and snarky phone conversations with my husband punctuated with a fussy baby soundtrack.  

A friend’s quick stop to pick up her kids from school became a baby possum in the wheel well, laying in the street in a dress, and a 30-minute wait for animal control. 

A casual attempt to go to church without my husband became a hesitant 3-year-old joining me in service, a hungry baby beckoning me back to the nursery, and a miscommunication with my older daughter necessitating a trip across the street mid-service.  I had three different seats, five phone calls, three texts, and one large booger handed to me, all in the course of 75 minutes.  Did I worship?  That's probably not what I would call it! : )

In moments like these, plans are suspended, expectations are challenged, and frustration tries to take hold.  Things aren’t going my way.  I sense a tantrum coming on.  This is not what I had in mind!  

My mind turns to Elasti-girl.  I think if I could have any special ability, I’d want hers.  How dramatically, could a big dose of flexibility completely transform my parenting?  As I reflect, I conclude that perhaps a secret to good parenting lies in this special trait.      

Any mom knows that there is nothing spectacular or unusual about these anecdotes.  Kids vomiting, dinner burning, missing shoes or jackets, lost homework, miscommunications, sibling squabbles, car trouble, sick babysitters, and the list goes on and on.  Us moms aren’t strangers to any wild concoction of any number of inconveniences and unwanted surprises.   Just like stretching can increase flexibility, my question is, what can I do to become a more flexible mom?  I’ve begun to construct a list and I know there’s room for more.  What do you think? 

1. Anticipate challenges. They aren’t the exception, they’re actually more often the rule.  Life often doesn’t go as planned.  How might more realistic expectations help?
2. Plan for challenges.  If challenges are likely to show up, maybe we should start leaving some space for the unexpected instead of lining up our days with back to back commitments. 
3. Maintain a sense of humor.  As we begin to leave space for snags, there’s also space to laugh.
4. Engage the flow of what life gives you, not what it doesn’t.  I actually discovered a fun time of bonding and twirling and giggling with my baby boy on the side of the road while AAA changed my flat tire the other day.  Even with a bolt in my tire, it turned out that there were treasures to be found.
5. Breathe deeply and let go. 
6. Practice gratitude.  Each day, even the hectic ones, are a gift from God.