Play!

We went from 0 to 3 in under 15.

That is, from 0 to 3 kids in under 15 months. Needless to say, things went from neat and orderly and predictable to untidy, unorganized, and unpredictable in short order.

Three kids in diapers, in cribs, on napping and feeding schedules: I don't even remember one whole year of my life. But I do know that I lived in sweats probably 360+ days of that year. And that the sweats had spit-up on them. And that a shower was a luxury. And to actually fix up my hair and makeup after the shower? A grand luxury!

All my tasks back then were based on fulfilling the needs of babies: feeding, changing, clothing, washing, soothing, napping, strapping in car seats, attending to medical needs. They didn't know how to play independently, and they were too young to leave alone, so I was their constant companion. All day, every day.

And that's what I signed up for! I don't regret it. Those days taught me much about unconditional love, responsibility, patience, my own strengths and shortcomings.

But I admit that, as they grew older, I loved their increasing independence. These days, they do their own laundry (well, not all the laundry, but as much as I can get them to do). They choose their outfits and get dressed on their own. They brush their teeth, take a bath or shower, use the bathroom, fix their hair without me. They've started helping in the kitchen. They clean up their own rooms. I rarely need to schedule playdates -- they just head outside and find a friend from the neighborhood to hang out with.

They still have needs. Big ones, like educational placement, medical management, etc. I still work very hard to make sure their needs are met. But that's different. Day-to-day, they don't need or want me hovering.

But, true to form, my kids keep teaching me. Today's lesson: Sometimes I need to play with my kids!

We were blessed with a snow day. All the schools were closed amid a blanket of wonderful white fluff. What a gift!

We made muffins together. We sledded. We made hot chocolate. We made snow angels. We tried to make a snowman (but it wasn't "packing" snow). So we made more hot chocolate. Then sledded some more. And more and more ...


I didn't worry about my To Do list. I didn't make the kids practice their piano. We didn't make our beds.

We had fun. We made memories. We didn't plan a thing.

We just played.