Yesterday morning the Lady and I cozied up in her bed with my coffee, her morning tea (she is so refined), her children’s Bible, and one of our favorite picture books, Stuck by Oliver Jeffers.
In Stuck, a boy gets all sorts of things stuck in a tree: a kite, a shoe, an orangutan, the house from across the tree, etc. He keeps throwing bigger and bigger things until his tiny kite pops out. It’s full of ridiculous dry wit that we love.
After reading, I gathered up three stray sippy cups, my coffee, our books, and headed down the hallway.
Then my coffee spontaneously dumped itself all over my favorite sweats that I had washed the previous night so that I could wear them that day. They were meant to be a happy place in the midst of a long homeschool day, and I was momentarily in shock that their happy-place-ness had worn off at 8 am.
I squawked really loud for a second, mopped up the mess, put on my jeans, and got over it.
My day went on.
At lunch Boy 2 spilled a tablespoon of barbecue sauce on his pants.
The screaming, writhing, sprinting in circles that ensued was shocking to behold. He acted like it was nuclear waste burning through his pants and disintegrating his skin.
When he paused to catch his breath, I looked at him and said, “Remember when I spilled my coffee everywhere this morning? Stuff spills. It’s okay.”
That’s when the saying, “It’s no use crying over spilt milk,” came into my mind.
That saying probably originated from a mother who couldn’t take all the screaming when insignificant messes erupted in a home full of children.
Because if spilt milk on the floor, a drip of barbecue sauce on your pants, or a cup of coffee all over you favorite sweats seems like the end of the world, you are going to have some difficulty handling life.
My entire job as a mom comes down to helping my kids learn to handle life. This screaming and squawking must be addressed.
I was stuck for a long time in a tree of wistful longing for idyllic peace. My kids and God have thrown a bunch of stuff at me, and I finally flew out of the tree.
Life is messy. But it’s also full of God’s goodness, grace, and truth. I think I can handle that.
