Enduring....

Earlier this week, I was talking to Mikaela about not having good without the bad. She asked, "what do mosquitos do?" I told her "absolutely nothing, other than suck your blood." Which she replied, "then why do they exist?!?" I agreed with her but explained that without bad we would never know good. Everything would just be the same. All the time. It sounds a bit boring, but after the last couple of weeks, it also sounds wonderful.

The same. A pause in the stress of just getting through each day. Making sure everything and every being is taken care of. Are the kids learning what they need to know? Are they developing a love of learning? Are my kids going to hate me because I'm Mom and Teacher and so I'm always directing them to do this or do that and rarely do I stop and just enjoy time with my kids? Are we ever going to break free of the debt that we have? Missing my husband because he's working extra but if he doesn't work extra we don't have the money we need. Can the kitchen floor go without being mopped another week? Oh no, another machine has stopped working and we don't have time or money to get it fixed but it needs to be fixed.

Guys. I am overwhelmed, in case you didn't pick up on that. So I went looking for something to put up on the fridge to just remind me that I'm not alone. That there is a reason for this bad to exist, if for nothing else, than for me to be grateful when the good comes. Looking for a mantra to repeat when I'm stressed out and the kids are yelling or whining and I don't think I can handle it! A reminder that this is phase of life and that I can endure.

Here are my favorites: