We’ve all seen those families run by the smallest of the children, kids who haven’t yet heard the word no a sufficient number of times and who maintain a tyrannical rule of chaos over their frazzled parents. It’s tempting to shake our heads and the words spoiled rotten come to mind. However, rarely do we hear tales of it going the other way.
God in infinite kindness blessed us with a tremendously good and happy baby. Over the last few months she has certainly spoiled mommy and daddy rotten. We have been lulled into a simple routine of long walks and easy bedtimes so that even the slightest resistance seems nightmarish in comparison. The hubby and I have grown so accustomed to having a happy baby that it’s shamefully easy to snap into panic and stress at the first sign of displeasure from her. In the thick of a drawn out, traumatic bedtime, how easy it is to forget the far more frequent moments of pure sunshine when she smiles or giggles or simply dozes peacefully in our arms. Thank you God for this wondrous, sweet little girl!
Although afternoon strolls through the neighborhood are now a daily occurrence for me, there’s a new sense of urgency about them to keep the stroller moving. On this particular sunny day, baby girl was fast asleep so mommy got to stop and smell the flowers. Indiana summers are truly blessed.
One thing that has become abundantly clear to me during my short three years as a practicing Catholic is that God’s plan is infinitely better than ours. Every time something miraculous happens in my life which utterly upsets the status quo and shatters my expectations I am freshly reminded of God’s goodness. It happened when I moved to Indiana, it happened when I met my husband and it happened when we welcomed our daughter into the world. None of these events played out quite like I would have imagined. They were even better and I am forever changed because of them.
The most recent pivotal event, the birth of our baby girl, ushered in an entirely new way of life which called for no small amount of deliberation with my husband as well as a renewed trust in God. After months of consideration and a thorough look at our finances I became a stay at home mom. For the first time in my life, my daily routine is not centered around a career. The engineering job which I’ve spent the majority of my life pursuing is currently in the rearview mirror. Perhaps one day when our kids are grown I may return to it but for now I am simply a mother.
This decision was met with overwhelming congratulations and support from friends and family, though some of them naturally voiced a number of questions which had been on replay in my own mind for the past year. Are you ready to live on only one income? Won’t you miss your job? Will you get bored? What are you going to do with your time? These are all perfectly valid concerns and were taken into consideration as this was not a choice made lightly.
Given the high costs of daycare and other childcare arrangements, a second income would not have ultimately benefited our overall finances by a significant margin. My husband is picking up a few extra overtime jobs while I am our primary childcare but these are sacrifices we are both happy to make. Perhaps someday I may come to miss the comradery of the office and mill life. However, though I made many friends at work I haven’t yet had a chance to miss the work itself. I love being home with my daughter. How could I possibly pass up seeing her sweet little face, even on the bad days, to sit at a desk in front of a computer for 40 hours a week? Motherhood will undoubtedly have its dull seasons and sleepless nights but I can’t imagine doing anything else. I believe that the time and energy I spent earning my engineering degree and scoring a job in the steel industry was still pointing me to exactly where I am today. All that work was done in the name of setting myself up to one day be able to raise a family.
My husband and I are continuing our commitments to our various church ministries while baby girl and I are on a constant mission to get out of the house. She’s a nature girl, after my own heart, and loves making new friends. In those spare moments when we’re not walking the neighborhood, hiking the local trails, having a playdate or attending weekday mass she occasionally lets me set her down long enough to do a little cooking and home upkeep. So far there hasn’t been a day wasted and I’m always learning more efficient methods for getting things done around the house while juggling the little one. Of course, I am now more dependent on my husband than ever before and it’s always possible that tragedy may strike tomorrow. Our situation may change in the blink of an eye. I may be called to return to office life unexpectedly but I choose not to live in fear of what might happen tomorrow. We are simply called to bear the crosses of today. Relying on my husband while I watch our daughter learn and grow every day is a cross I am overjoyed to take up daily. God is so good.
This year the hubby and I tried our hand at a small veggie garden, and it was far from a fruitless labor. We spent the entire summer passing cucumbers and tomatoes out to all of our neighbors which turned out to be an excellent way to break the ice with some folks we hadn’t spoken to much before. Who knew fresh vegetables could also aid in growing new friendships. It was a summer full of blessings.
Apologies once again for the lack of Monday posts over the past couple of weeks. I am still learning the juggling act which is motherhood. Today’s post is all about the ultimate mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although there are many sights of Marian apparitions throughout the world worthy of pilgrimage, for one week the Holy Mother blessed our home with a pilgrimage of her own. While we hosted her we prayed a rosary and litany in front of her statue as a family every day. This was all in participation of a tradition very near to my husband’s heart.
During his upbringing my husband and several of the men in his family spent their Saturday afternoons processing the Blessed Virgin from one house to another, praying the rosary in front of her with each family as she traveled to a different home every week. This holy work was performed by a group of devout Catholic men known as the Ambassadors of Mary, a group dedicated to promoting devotion to the Blessed Mother. As my husband and his family moved away from their hometown the tradition petered out for a time.
However, we recently watched a documentary, Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton, which details the life of this incredible priest from Ireland. Of his many accomplishments, Fr. Peyton maintained a special and infectious devotion to the rosary, leading millions in prayer during massive rosary rallies. He is also responsible for the phrase “the family that prays together stays together.” His is a truly inspiring story which is still sure to ignite a fire for the Blessed Mother in the hearts of those who hear it. Such was the case for my husband and I. He immediately set to work coordinating a new Ambassadors of Mary ministry in our home parish.
This was also the week in which I officially became a stay at home mom and it was an especially poignant blessing to welcome the mother of Christ into our home during that transition. Our house was filled with the peace and joy of her motherly intercession. Even our three month old daughter was overcome with awe for the beautiful Blessed Virgin, unable to tear her eyes away from the statue. We look forward to hosting her as often as we can.
They say time flies when you’re having fun. This summer definitely sped by as we welcomed our daughter into our lives and the fun is just beginning. What a beautiful, blessed life.
I spent the entirety of my upbringing hiking and camping with my family. Happily, God blessed me with a husband who is happy to carry on these outdoor traditions with our own family. This summer we did just that and our baby girl got to have her very first campfire.
Blessed in the Midwest 