I Had A Full Plate (So I Traded It In For A Bigger One)

Once upon a time there was a little family who lived in a little house.  It sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale, doesn't it?  Well, open the door to that little house and you do have a fairy tale--you also have parents sighing, a baby crying, boys arguing and fighting, and a light bulb in the dining room that can't decide if it wants to shine dimly or brightly. We'll be sitting at the table eating dinner--the boys will be goofing off, Kaitlyn will be crying, and Jacob and I will be taking turns saying, "Stop that!"  "Eat!"  "Leave your brother alone!" The light bulb above us will dim then get bright again.  We all freeze and grow silent, then we look up at the light.  This light bulb has a personality just like many appliances in this little home.  The washing machine, for example, will hit the spin cycle and sit there pumping air when it is supposed to pump water.  I'll go in and mess with it until I finally hear the water pumping in.  It happens nearly every time.  As I said before, it has a personality all its own! Little things like this are referred to as "stupid problems" in our home. We call them stupid problems because they are just small annoyances for the most part, but also because there is so much going on right now that we don't need one more thing added to our plate--even something as simple as a light bulb.  Actually, I went to the "reality" store last week and traded in our old plate for a bigger one.  I explained to the sales clerk that the plate we currently had just wasn't big enough for all that we had going on.  She nodded and showed me some bigger plates.  I found a large one that had edges to keep things from sliding off or hanging over.  Hopefully it will work because it seems like every day something new is added to our plate.
There are moments where we will feel overwhelmed--and it's little moments such as your son telling you that your hair looks a little ugly or that you look "way better" without your glasses, or some one making a comment about your body or the state of your house. These little moments, for whatever reason, are the ones that push us over the edge.

I've decided to start lifting weights so I can hold this bigger plate.  I know that one day, hopefully soon, life will slow down, we will all be well, and we'll be able to use our very large and nearly empty plate to slide down the hill outside our house.  That's right--the plate can be used for fun and entertainment too.  Isn't that amazing?  Give me enough time and I'll prove it!