A New Stage of Life

It's not unusual with four kids to feel like you are in Taxi Driver Stage- the time in which you seemingly serve only as a means of transportation for everyone's activities. This stage occurs a few years after Bessie the Milk Cow Stage- filled with breast or bottle feeding CONSTANTLY and the Potty Pooper Stage- a time in which your party IS the potty, poop, accidents, back-breaking hovering and much clothes washing.  None the less, the Taxi Driver Stage is as time consuming and messy (and filled with sheer joy and laughs!) as the stages before it.
Today, however I got a glimpse of a total different stage that I had never seen before (not sure that I like it either). I'm calling it the Mass Exodus Stage- the stage at which you don't just run your kids around, dropping them off for an hour or two, rushing back to pick them up again. In this stage, the kids are old enough to have day-long or in fact, weekend-long activities, routinely; I'm not just talking summer camp. I'm talking regularly scheduled calendar-worthy all-day activities.  What?!   Next, you'll tell me that they'll be driving (in just 3 short years) to these things- I may end up calling that the Scared S*#@less Stage.
HOW did I get here? 
Well, an egg meets a....oh, sorry, I meant- How did I come to this revelation today?
Connor is in Ohio with his aunt and uncle this weekend. Colin spent Saturday snowboarding with his small group and then, to compound the sense of exodus, Sybella, my 4year old, went out to play with a 1st grade neighbor and her older brother. I was left at home with just one young son. That's a 75% reduction in labor, distraction, entertainment, and sweet, sweet moments. To top it off, David left for a week-long business trip- so he couldn't even make it feel like I was getting much deserved time off from the work of motherhood.
I am tearing up just writing this. I typically celebrate the passing of stages and talk fondly of a time in life without the obligations that come along with kids- but this weekend, the Mass Exodus made me stop and 'feel' their departures. I have SO much respect for the moms I know who are sending first and second children off to college. I am saying a long prayer of thanks today that I have an 11 year span between my oldest and youngest- at least I will get to ease into these stages of aging children that lead us to the  Empty Nest.

What Stage are you in right now? What do you love best about it?
~Sharon

Mom Chat

This past weekend, I had the humbling opportunity to do a Mom's Chat for about 15 women hosted by my friend, Brooke. The idea was that I would give information on several topics from my experiences, errors, and lessons learned with our 4 kids and then there would be a time for Q&A. We didn't get a chance to do much Q&A due to starting a bit late and the fact that I prepared too much content (in fear that I wouldn't have enough- the thought of being unprepared is torture to me); but, amazingly enough, I think it went exactly the way it was supposed to go.
As I worked thru my preparation for the event and praying for both the event and the women involved, I kept expecting that God would give me exactly the parenting information that would help and encourage the women attending and.... he didn't! Instead he gave me two things to share that are awesome and I thought they might be an encouragement to others of you.
The first is the idea that Jesus knows exactly what burden each of us is carrying and although the burden may not seem big to anyone else, it's big to us; he knows it, and he wants to be in the middle of it with us-- we just have to let him. How reassuring is that! There is no one I'd rather have with me in the middle of my biggest challenges than Jesus.
The second thing I shared was that negative self-talk is discouraging and destroying women in awful and unnecessary ways. We talk to ourselves, criticize, and undermine ourselves with words and unforgiveness that we wouldn't use on our worst enemies. (At least I know that I have talked to myself that way.) I asked the ladies to write on a card something that they have been self-talking that they wouldn't admit to their best friend, their husband, or God himself. I encouraged them to destroy the card or better yet, leave the card with me or a friend as a symbol of the finality of this negative self-talk in their lives. Several women left cards with me and others have shared their cards with friends. It's amazing the steps that can be taken to break damaging behaviors with one 3x5 card!
So grateful for the opportunity to share my journey with the intent of helping and encouraging other women. Also especially grateful to Shauna, Tracy, Brooke, Lora, Glenda, Terri, Tobi, Kim, and Eileen for encouraging me- and speaking things into my life to help me be and live better!
~Sharon