Domestic Bliss...

Domestic is not a word I would regularly use to describe myself. I much prefer going to a job and doing work for someone else to doing laundry, dishes and more laundry in my own home. Is there something wrong with me? In fact, the more time I spend at home, it seems, the less efficient I am at dealing with household chores.

Enter today... I feel like a domestic goddess today. I powered through seven loads of laundry, sorted, and, wait for it... put away! I cleaned the kitchen like the scrubbing bubbles, took all 4 kids to the shiny new grocery market near home and look forward to creating delicious dinner for all to enjoy. What the...? Why can't I do the things I did today on a more consistent basis... or at least experience joy in the doing, as I did today.

I actually think gratitude has taken hold today. Not like nice-christian-guideposts-goody-i-go-to-church-every-sunday kind of gratitude... no, this gratitude gripped me, and shook me. Haiti, people... What am I supposed to do in light of Haiti? How on earth am I supposed to respond?

So, as I stood in front of my wonderfully modern washer and dryer, where I can often be prone to start whining about the never ending task that is laundry, I was shaken... No! I have clothes... and healthy children to dress with them... even water safe enough to drink to wash with.

As most epiphany moments do, I'm sure this will pass, and I'll be tempted to whine again. Before I do, I have to write this down. I'm convicted, and sorry that I am so spoiled. I don't want to live in the tension of having so much and knowing how little so many others have... but it's where I get to live. Meanwhile... I pray for the mothers in Haiti, particularly the grieving ones.

I really do want to blog more regularly... I do... I do... I do. Life sweeps over me and I just don't get around to it. So, here I go:

Today I was thinking about plants... which always happens to me when the grey skies part for a few moments and let me remember the sun. I love the new growth, the groundbreaking vibrant greens that shoot out. I am sort of a sucker for change. I could have easily been a gypsy... my husband even called me that early in our marriage. Perhaps that is why I had four children, and not two.

So, back to the plants... When Jeff and I were first married, we lived in an apartment, and soon after moved to a teeny rental house that was quaint and perfect (for newlyweds, in spite of the horrid paneling in the dining room, the ONE window a/c in the whole house and the massive numbers of black widows). It had a great little yard that we poured our nesty-ness all over. We were gardening idiots (and cooking idiots, and for that matter, marriage idiots) so we planted things in the wrong places or the wrong season and were horrible plant murderers that first year. We have gotten ever-so-slightly more knowledgeable about gardening since then.

As I was pondering plants earlier today, I was thinking about the plants I used to be attracted to. I bought lots of annuals with soft, colorful petals. They appealed to me because they were delicate. And I could change them in just a few months. We didn't have much money and I found myself drooling over yards that had hundreds of annuals in mass plantings while I planted my puny little 6 packs that I found on sale.

Now, my tastes have completely changed. When we redid the front yard this last year, I wanted plants that were HARDY. I wanted grasses and shrubs (not grandma ugly shrubs, but shrubs nonetheless) that could withstand the heat, hardly ever need my attention, and could get by with a few measly drips of water. Yes, I do care about the environment, but even more pressing in my low maintenance choices was my desire for one area to be taken care of. In fact the little perennials inside my house in the form of children change so fast that I can't be bothered with the thought of messing with flowers that need to be babied.

So, maybe that's good... ? I don't know. Maybe God is settling me down. Maybe he has given me all that I can handle and even sometimes a little more than I think I can (read: whining 2 year old saying the same word incessantly all the way home until I think I just might scratch my own ears off... which brings me to the Limo Window, which I'll have to save for another post). Regardless, I am grateful for the changes in life that cause us to mature, grow, desire different things.

There Better Be Cheese at the End of This Maze...

I had my first child when I was 25. I thought we were "prepared," HA! I laugh because: a. It's not even remotely possible to prepare oneself for the life shift that will occur when a child arrives, b. Contrary to popular belief, there isn't a book, or even a set of books that can prepare you for welcoming, adjusting to, and then raising a child.

Being an educated woman who loves to know what is going on (can you say control freak?) I naturally sought parenting books during those blissful (and very quiet) pre-baby days as my little firstborn formed in my belly. I was very diligent about reading what I should expect and how to be 'baby...wise' (as if there is such a thing) all the while thinking that all of the information and advice I read was completely doable and I began developing my action plan set to begin the day my little darling arrived.

Oh, and then she did arrive, after 2 false runs to the hospital and a long night of walking the "track" at the hospital while amniotic fluid gushed out into my lovely maternity panties. So, in hindsight, I guess I wasn't in control from the get go. Then my lovely little Elanor came out and she looked straight into our eyes with the intensity we have come to know well, and I thought, "Oh my, this might be harder than I thought..." MIGHT?! Ha!

Thus began my incredibly long and tedious love-hate relationship with parenting books. I always begin reading them with great optimism, hoping to find the pearl that will finally simplify my journey as a parent...only to cast most books under the bed to live with the dust bunnies as they predictably disappoint me and leave me feeling like I have hit yet another wall in the long maze of trying to decode the parenting puzzle... If a book doesn't leave me feeling guilty and judged, then it lets me down into the all-too-familiar pit of disillusionment. I have four VERY different little people growing up in my house, and I while I'm no genius, I am quite confident that the exact same methods are not going to yield the same results with each one.

Long story short, I'm sick of parenting books... hence the blog. I surely don't claim to have the answers... but I believe in a big God and his creativity and wisdom instilled in the other moms he has created... so, let's talk... and lean on bits of brilliance we can glean from one another. Whaddya say?

There is Meaning in a Name

I have had SO many conversations with moms in my stage of life that share the same thoughts/struggles/frustrations. So, after one particular conversation with my sister, Lisa, we agreed there should be a blog (read: discussion, forum, place-to vent-when-your-head-is-about-to-explode type of place) for parents who are attempting to parent children with dignity, character, and most of all, sanity.

A couple of things you ought to know before reading/responding to this blog:

• I am a mother of four strong-willed, wonderfully unique individuals.
  
• I do not claim to know what I am doing at all (or even most) times parenting.
• I seek honest and authentic discussion about parenting.
• I subscribe to the approach that there is more than one way to skin a cat, meaning, I learned early on to be careful about leaning too heavily on any ONE way (book, program)to parent.
• I totally believe that children are a gift, and should be treated as such.
• I am a D6 sort of parent (Deuteronomy 6), taking the position that we get one short window to give our kids what they need to build their foundation relationally, spiritually, intellectually and otherwise.

Now about the name: Organic Corn Dogs.
I have met and talked with lots of moms and dads who take different approaches to, well, everything.
Some people birth children at home, others are all about the hospital experience.
Some people believe you should never spank, others spank for every offense.
Some people work hard to only feed their children organic foods, others choose corn dogs as staples of the family diet.

While I have my own opinions, like all healthy people should, I have learned that there will always be someone who thinks differently than me and that I ought to be willing to engage in conversation with people who aren't just like me. I have also learned (though I still struggle) that judgement of others is usually unproductive for everyone involved.

Having said all of that, I invite you to join the discussion so we can go on this journey together. Let's chat about what things are important to us, and how to navigate this great privilege called parenting, with balance and grace.