Everyday sweetness

Remember when you got done with work and the whole evening stretched out before you?

Yep, before kids. A lifetime ago. Or in my case, two lifetimes ago.

Now when I get done with work there is: picking the kids up, letting them "relax" while I clean the kitchen & do laundry, help with homework, make dinner, eat dinner (sometimes a huge feat with a picky eater), clean up after dinner, catch up on bill paying/cleaning the rest of the house/preparing for tomorrow, get the kids in the shower, get them dressed and teeth brushed, read bedtime stories, lights out, spend some time with my husband, our lights out.

Our current bedtime reading selection

Still, there are moments when time seems to stand still, suspended in cotton candy like sweetness: Reading bedtime stories is one of my favorite times of the day.
Saying prayers and I hear the best part of the day was "bike riding with mom," or "when mom took me to the park."
My 10 year old still asking for a kiss or hug at bedtime.
Hearing my children read aloud.
The made-up songs rising above the shower.
Whispered plans for an imagined kingdom.

Even at the most tiring, monotonous moments I think my heart will burst from the sweetness of it all. Then I am called to referee the most recent fight and snap out of it. Until then though, I will keep the sweet moments as a buttress to the negatives that threaten to pull me down and be reminded of how good life really is.