love – LIFE OVERLOAD

What Is Your Favorite Part Of Your Life Right Now?

The stillness and routine is by far my favorite. In my first marriage, my ex husband was in a Special Forces unit in the Marine Corps. Needless to say, there wasn’t a whole lot of routine there. His schedule was extremely unpredictable, which made my schedule the same. We didn’t have kids together so we had the luxury of not having to worry much about where his missions took him. Had kids been a part of the equation, it would have made the situation much different. I have the utmost respect for the women who are taking care of children while their spouse is off serving our country. I watched some of my friends do it and it takes a special strength to do that. A strength that looking back now, I know that I didn’t have. Funny how the universe works when you don’t even realize it.

I look at my life now, and there is definitely routine and I love it. This is the life I’ve dreamed of. My husband is home every night, my kids have a routine. I am lucky enough to have a job that allows me to make my own schedule and also work from home so I can take care of all of my kids need. I can have a career AND be a wife and mother without having to sacrifice anything. Some days it’s exhausting, and some days I don’t know how I’ll do it, but it always gets done. I remember what it was like when I didn’t think that I would ever have this. From the reproductive issues that I have to my first failed marriage, I didn’t think that this kind of life was in the cards for me. So even on the hard, exhausting days I don’t complain. And sometimes after the day is over, the kids have been tucked in and are sleeping peacefully in their bed and my husband has fallen asleep waiting for me to finish my last shift of the night, I take a moment to just take it all in, because this is everything that I wished for.

How Tight is TOO Tight?

It’s been a pretty busy couple of weeks in our household so I haven’t been around to blog the way that I have wanted to, or should I say as frequently. The triplets turned 11, and as much as some days, I wish and think that I’m ready, I most definitely am not. Where are my babies? Where are the little ones that always wanted to hold my hand or needed help getting dishes out of the cabinet because they were too short (to be fair though, I need a step stool for EVERYTHING being as I’m 32 years old and 4’10!) With them turning another year older and entering their preteen years, I can’t help but wonder am I holding on to them tight enough, and how tight is too tight?

What criteria are other parents using to determine when to let their children explore different types of independence? I feel like this is such a difficult question because every kid and every situation is different, and as we all know, what works in one household very rarely works in another. For example, all of us mamas know that babysitters are EXPENSIVE! In my state, there is no minimum age for a child to stay alone as long as they can dial 911. I think this is absolutely absurd. But in that very same breath, I trust two of my triplets to be left at home alone for small periods of time while I would never feel comfortable leaving the last of the trio alone and if we’re being completely honest, I don’t know when or if I ever will feel comfortable. The trust and confidence just isn’t there. So to those parents reading this, how do you make those decisions and what do you base those decisions on?