Rainclouds and Umbrellas

Last week was one of those grumpy bear, raincloud following me weeks. Not sure why. Perhaps because it's been a long winter and I'm suffering from Vitamin D deficiency. Perhaps because my husband was gone on a long work trip and I was feeling lonely and overwhelmed. Perhaps because I'm a bit sleep deprived from nursing nearly every 3 hours around the clock. Perhaps because my older boys were showing some not-so-virtuous qualities which caused me to feel a mixture of guilt (for apparently not parenting better) and sadness (for realizing that no matter how good I parent, they might still make poor choices). I know that all sounds heavy and dramatic. That's just the way I am (just ask my mother!). I have one of those Anne of Green Gables personalities---which is to say that when I'm happy, I'm floating in the clouds, and when I'm not, I'm wallowing in the depths of despair :) Unfortunately (for myself and those who are forced to live with me), I seldom find myself in between those two extremes :} Perhaps I'm being over dramatic, which is likely, because I also have the annoying tendency to exaggerate things a wee bit (just ask my husband!) :)

Anyway, in case you were worried, I am better this week. Each of my boys made up for last week's below-average behavior by reminding me in a number of ways that they are indeed better-than-average boys---actually they are quite exceptional most of the time. Joseph and Michael won me over again with these beautiful drawings that warmed this Catholic-to-the-core mother's heart...

I also caught the boys doing many kind deeds for each other this week, which made up for the not-so-kind deeds I caught them doing last week :) And Dominic brightened my week with countless quips in the car that make it impossible for me to stay grumpy for long, such as: "Mom, did you know that after I become a priest, I'm going to become a cowboy!" :) Totally random, totally made me laugh out loud. My, how I love how his little mind works! :)

Anyway, I just felt like sharing these thoughts for any of you mothers out there who feel like a raincloud is following them like the one that hovered above my head last week. Blogs usually seem to be filled with only the "happy thoughts," the "scrapbook perfect moments." But that's not real life. Life has rainclouds. Reading other blogs that only show seemingly Utopian lives frankly depresses me. I avoid them because they only succeed in making me feel like a failure. So, just in case my blog is guilty of giving the illussion that my life is all rainbows with no rain, I thought I better clear up that complete misconception :) May it encourage each of you kind readers to know that my life is far from perfect. Just ask my friend Jenny who gets an earful of all my rainclouds nearly every morning on the phone. She's the sister I always wished I had...the glimpse of sunshine on my cloudy days!



I think Jenny and I are such good friends because we share our imperfections, while at the same time encourage each other to keep our eyes focused on Him Who is perfect. She has been the perfect friend for the past 10 years. While our husbands were stationed together at the same Navy base, Jenny and I stationed ourselves at each other's houses almost daily because God was kind enough to make us next door neighbors (and I'm so glad He did!) Many children and many duty stations later, we're still kindred spirits :) How I hope everyone has a Jenny in their lives! :) A true friend is like a trusty umbrella when rainclouds come our way!