Pregnancy Ponderings

I was browsing my "Mommy blogs" when I came upon this little
article addressing home schooling while sick with first-trimester pregnancy:

 http://www.houseunseen.com/2015/12/3-tips-for-homeschooling-while-pregnant.html#more

I've been working hard on "spring cleaning", which for me means the deep cleaning I do cyclically throughout the year: Advent and Lent are big "clean and purge" seasons for me, but also before a new school year and at it's end, packing it all away for the summer.  So, post-Christmas, New Year's is also a season for me to clean out and freshen the house as we settle into a happy post-holiday season routine of good school days and healthy eating.

Here's my connecting the above thoughts: this year I came off of my first-trimester sickness and exhaustion right in time for the New Year cleaning and freshening season.  Here's what I'm noticing as I go through my home: I don't think I've cleaned my bathroom since the day I found out I was expecting.  My cupboards were filled with coffee grounds and crumbs.  My closets are all a-jumble.

Know what? It's really really hard on a household when Mama's out of action!

As I've been moving from room to room and mess to mess, I haven't been overwhelmed and discouraged.  I've sort of been chuckling to myself at just how bad it got while I was sick.  I'm happy to get back to the daily hum, spinning touches of order into the crazy of our life.  I LOVE the second trimester!!!

If I had one piece of advice to share it would be this: be patient.  In motherhood there are hours, days and even months of chaos that try our patience and take a big whack at our pride.  But there are also times of restoration: of order, of health, of dependable rhythms and routines.  And that ebb and flow of crazy and peace begins to emerge in its own little dependable rhythm, so that in times of chaos you can truly await the calm after the storm.  It does take patience, and it rarely comes as quickly as we'd like, but in God's time it really will come if we just patiently accept what each day brings us.

So, I'm off: my kids are rollerblading in the house and I really need to get them started on school so I can get the dishes in the dishwasher!  See: crazymess and order, all mixed up together!:)