Sparkle

12 Days of Thanksgiving: DAY FOUR

Boy, I woke up crabby this morning. It happens to the best of us, and this morning was mine. This whole week, really. I mentioned at the beginning of the week that I’m running on empty. I am, and I think the tiredness, hectic schedule and constant brain motion are starting to leak.

This morning, everyone was moving too slow. Everyone was too loud. Or too quiet. Everyone was was getting their pants dirty or their crumbs on the floor. You’ll notice that none of the MOMMY’s actions were highlighted in this scenario. Yes, I tried to temper my language and my tone, and not many of those indictments actually left my mouth. Still, my thoughts were filled with total crabbiness — impatience, fatigue and annoyance all balled into one bad attitude. To top it off, it was raining. Rain in the morning means I get wet several times while shuffling the gang to their respective school rooms before I even get a chance to sit down for work.

Get out the horns and confetti, I was scheduling a pity party!

Then, it happened. As it always does. One of those sweet little ones I call my own says something that completely takes me off guard. A statement that lets me question who’s really teaching who in this whole parenting thing. This time is was Bug.

“The sky is sparkling!”

I was buckling him into his booster seat to go to preschool. He was talking about this and that. (Bug always has a tall tale brewing.) Then he stopped mid-sentence and came out with “the sky is sparkling.”

The sky I was looking at was dappled with clouds and raindrops. It was sluggish at best with only a hint there might be sunshine somewhere in the forecast. For him, it was sparkling! It made me smile. It made me shake my head. At myself. It made me giggle. And stop. Overwhelmed by the sheer amazing experience of knowing these three little hearts. It made me tell him, “I think YOU are sparkling!” That gave him a turn to giggle. And give me that look like “mommies say the darnedest things.”

Consider my view shifted. This life is filled with sparkle. If I’m willing to see it. To be blinded by it.

Guess what? Life happens. To everyone. Lack of sleep, crabbiness and all. It happens. Thank God. Way too many projects scheduled for work today. Too few hours of sleep. The pressure to fit everything in. Kid programs and parties and special lunches all requiring my attention. A brain filled with so many details I’m certain it will burst and lose them all. All that busy-ness. Each moment seemingly filled with something. But it’s filled! It’s evidence of fullness. Of blessing. Of the the incredible value of each child (and client) requiring my attention. It is blessing. If I choose to see it as such. If I choose to be blinded by it.

We all have a saturation point. We all have the burden of ensuring that our own commitments reflect the value we really want to glean in life. But, today I’m thankful for the reminder that busy-ness is reflective of blessing. This busy-ness comes from an effort to give everything I can to make these experiences meaningful. To go the extra mile to be there. To be present and accounted for in this quickly fleeting season. And as I weed through a list of tasks and commitments that perhaps can’t all be done, this reminder gives me the ammunition I need to choose. To determine what will sow the most blessing. The most sparkle.