Have you ever put together a 100 piece puzzle? Sure you have. How about a 500 piece puzzle? Maybe, maybe not. None the less, you have a method in which to piece together the picture. Some of us put the border or barrier pieces together first. Others, put together groups of shapes/people/pictures until the whole puzzle goes together. There is one constant though, you have all the pieces. Now imagine putting together a puzzle with missing pieces.. Who wins?
Life is a constant uphill battle for most. We wake up each day, put both feet on the ground, and put our pants on one leg at a time. While I will admit that some of us only have one foot, or others step into a skirt, dress, or are clever and step into their pants two legs at a time, the vast majority of all of us follow the same routine of two feet on the ground and one leg at a time during our morning (or evening) schedule. I say all of this to tell you, we all begin each day with a plan.. A structured plan with goals we want to obtain by the time we return home and drift off to sleep, or a plan to have no plan (which is in fact a plan). And I will tell you all, our life is one daily plan after another that on the outside seems like a series of accomplished goals but I assure you it is not.
As humans the most basic thing we can do is admit we are prone to failure. Failure will do one of two things to each of us, make us better or send us on a long road of self doubt and uncontrolled bad decision making. Keep the faith, strive to do better each day. Life isn't a cake walk. Life certainly isn't a series of getting our way each day.
On a normal day, my wife and I set out to do a few of the basic things - make sure Noah is at school on time, that all the kids eat enough calories (what a feat), make it to work before the tardy buzzer rings, and so on. If we make it to bed at night without a child in bed with us, it is an overall success. But so much occurs between 6a and 11p that wears you down over time. How many times did Levi not make it to the loo today? Did Rhett actually nap? Is Noah on the naughty list at school or did he surprisingly bring home a good color? And of course, the list goes on and on. I say all of this to say, if I were to let all of the "wear and tear" things weigh me down I would be no good to my family or society. We are all going to face challenges. Things will go the way we intend every day for a week then that week will be followed with hit and miss days for the next two months. This is okay. This is normal.
I see many people through my work that believe they are the only ones who don't have their lives together. What an opportunity I have been given to share my story with them. To share the obstacles that we have overcome. Just remember, that the daily things that "wear and tear" on you do not define you. The funniest thing I hear people say is "You guys really have everything together, how do you do it?" HELLO.. The last time I checked, one of my children went #2 on the white sofa yesterday while we were cooking dinner then proceeded to invite his brother to play in it with him. I assure you all, my life is far from together. I take each day, one day at a time, and hope at the end of the day all of my kids go to bed with all their phalanges, appendages and hair - by the way, one of my children is going to bed without his hair today (once again proof that we don't have our things together, proof that we are human).
I say all of this to tell anyone who needs to hear it, life happens. We are all facing an uphill battle. The most important thing we can do for each other is to encourage one another to be better people; to reassure each other that life happens.
As far as updates go, Noah scored all good colors in school last week! Levi does not have any hair and is quite proud of his new look (he likes wearing a ball cap). Rhett is addicted to Daddy lately and tolerates Mommy but still refuses to eat much food or to spend much time alone. Mary and I had family in town this past weekend from Missouri and were lucky to spend a few hours visiting. We received happy news today that we are to be Uncle and Aunt again, our Niece Corbin will be blessed with a new sibling in 34 weeks or so. We also are looking forward to the marriage of Mary's sister Carolin to her long time beau Thomas, which reminds me I need to order Noah's tuxedo today..
Life is happening, the plans we all make get us through the day. Don't dwell on the negatives, look forward to the positives. If you pray, pray for my family. There are so many more unknowns out there for us, but we are fighting to make a difference.
