Life happens...for all of us. No matter what we do to try to slow it down, it comes at us full force, and as a mom of 3 kids under the age of 4, I TRY to take it as gracefully as possible. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. We (my kids and I...and if I'm being truthful, mostly me), spend a good portion of our day in pj's.
(go ahead and judge...I judge myself a little)
I'll try to defend myself a bit and explain. Our daughter was born last November, 6 weeks ahead of her due date. We spent nearly a month in the NICU (I'll go more into our story on another post), and finally got to bring her home right before her 1 month birthday. Our stay was full of ups and downs, and those nurses...first of all, those nurses are AMAZING. It takes a special person to be a NICU nurse. But those nurses do a great job of scaring the poo out of you, when you get discharged. A list of do's and don'ts flood your brain, that by the time you finally get home, you're too scared to leave.
Granted, TJ was born right when cold and flu season was in full swing, so we were pretty justified in our concerns. As her only and biggest advocates, our main goal was and is to keep her healthy. Easy enough, right? Wrong. Our entire lives took a dramatic shift. Due to her "special" medical needs in the NICU, we couldn't risk her getting even a cold, as we'd wind up right back in there. No thanks. So we set severe ground rules that, to many people, seemed a bit unnecessary or overkill. But I'm here to tell you folks, when it comes to your kids health, NOTHING is overkill.
We didn't have visitors to the house. Absolutely NO children were allowed over, and if either my husband or myself left the house for any reason, we immediately took a shower as soon as we returned, before handling the girl. The hardest one for us, was that we had to stop going to church. Imagine, if you will, changing your life so drastically at the time of your birthday and Christmas. Not fun. Or easy. We were, however, blessed with phone calls, letters, and a meal here or there, and that helped me feel like we were still connected to the outside world.
Now, as the weather has finally begun warming up, the idea of getting out of the house seems wonderful...and yet scary as all get out. After 5 1/2 months of basically barricading ourselves in our home, we can start to emerge. Start to be part of the land of the living.
I'm going to be honest with you right now...I'm terrified. Not necessarily for fear of sickness, but fear of "how can I possibly get out and function with THREE children?!" I've been so used to life INSIDE our home (in our pj's) for the past 5 1/2 months, that I'm not even sure how to do it. I have a 3.5 year old who is pretty much potty trained, but pushes every single boundary he can find, a 1.5 year old who climbs on everything, screams loud enough to wish you were going deaf, and does NOT enjoy his diaper being changed, and a 5 month old who, let's face it, is the easiest kid I've had so far, and yet her naps are SO precious that I cannot screw up her day by making her miss it.
I don't know how moms of 3+ do it. I'd love to know your secrets!
I guess what I really want to say to my Mom friends is this...I'm still here, but it may take me a while to feel confident in getting out for play dates. I might sound disinterested over the phone, or I may throw every excuse in the book at you, as to why I "just can't" some days. I may complain a bit about how stir crazy my kids are, how I am, and yet not take you up on your offer to meet at the local park. Please don't give up on me. I'm still here. I'm still learning and trying to figure out how to juggle 3 kids at home, that the idea of trying to juggle them in public is daunting. Please don't stop asking me to do things. It's so great to know my friends are still out there. Please don't stop asking because, one day...I won't say no. I won't have any excuses, and I will be ready to brave the world as a mom of 3.
In the meantime, I'll be enjoying my pj's...maybe tomorrow I'll wear jeans.
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