Haley
Most days, I have my act together. What am I saying? I don’t have my act together, but I’m so accustomed to the chaos of life with two little boys that it’s become normal. James Michael is only sedentary when being read books (mostly before nap and bed) or when playing with Playdoh. And Beau, well Wild Man Beau is never still. I would say he’s still when he sleeps, but seeing as how he was up 6 times last night, that’s not always true either.
But I’m used to them always getting into something, and accordingly, always being within close enough distance to monitor them before tragedy strikes–before Beau eats the red berries in the yard, before JM hits Beau on the head with a toy one too many times, before Beau falls off the end table he’s standing on, before Beau sinks his teeth far enough into JM to draw blood, before Beau runs into the road in the front yard, before Beau runs off the side of the neighbor’s retaining wall. You get the point. I try not to be a helicopter mom, but Beau sure does give me a run for my money (or lack thereof, in the case of a stay at home mom).
When people look at my belly and become wide-eyed when I tell them I’ll have three children in less than three years, I shake it off and tell them that life is already chaotic, so why not add one more child to the mix. And while that’s true, now that I’m 6 to 8 weeks from meeting Baby Scarlett, I’m starting to wonder just what I’m in for.
How will I keep Beau safe and out of trouble with a newborn in my arms? How in the world will I get dinner made at night–when will I have any free time? How will the boys fair sharing a room–will I be up with them as well as up with a newborn in the middle of the night? How will I get both boys bathed at night when James is working–it’s hard enough now without a newborn in the mix? How will I get all three of them down for bed by myself at night?
And when I think about possible solutions to these issues, I mean really think about them, I’ve got nothing. No answers or quick fixes. Basically, I just tell myself I’ll wing it. I’ll adapt; the boys will adapt; Baby Scarlett will spend her life in adaptation as the third child.
Somehow, we’ll make it through her first week, first month, first year with our family. Somehow, we’ll learn to be a functioning family of five with stair-step children. Somehow, we’ll learn to play zone instead of man-to-man defense.
I know one day I’ll look back and wonder what life was like before she joined our family–before seeing the surprising positive on the pregnancy test that day, before realizing God’s timing is my timing. I can’t say that life will have been less boring before she comes, but I can already tell it will have been less complete.
