Monday, January 23, 2012

Family Rhythm




All the children were in their places when I set the casserole down on the table.  I slid into my spot and sighed.  "It feels so good to be back."  Jason lit the candles and we all bowed our heads.

This past week has been full of surprises for us.  When I left the house Wednesday night, I never dreamed I wouldn't see the other children until Saturday afternoon.  I hugged them goodbye and said "I'll be here in the morning."  It didn't turn out that way.

In the following days, I sat crib-side in the hospital room when Peter slept, thinking about how things were going at home and straining against the unnatural feeling of truly having nothing to do but wait.  Meanwhile, the children were passed from family member to family member, and, when Jason was home from work, he was making the best of a home with 4 anxious little ones and no partner to make dinner, or to brush hair, or help tuck them in bed at night.

We all just simply did the next thing - did the work that was in front of us.  It felt good to be able to respond in that way, for me to be exactly where I was needed with our littlest, and for Jason to be able to tend those at home. Still, coming home could not have been sweeter.  We all missed the rhythm of our family.

I'm not one for rigid scheduling, and so much of our days seems to have an effortless, unencumbered flow to it.  Even so, we do have those  sign posts of daily must-haves that we touch on each and every day.  One of those being family dinnertime, complete with lit candles.  Every night.  Its the gateway to a calm evening, the beginning of the end of day, the first in a series of activities that leads gently toward that moment when I tuck them in.  This past week hasn't seen much of that.  Hurried meals after Dad came home from work, movies watched for too long and bedtimes left unobserved.  A great upheaval to our "normal."

There's not much glamorous of this little life of ours.  Its pretty simple, all said.  Lots of children, laundry, dishes.  And yet there is so much that is precious to us in just our daily dance.

Later on, I brush the girls' hair and they pick out pajamas and a story.  "I'm so glad you're back," Dinah says, pulling my face close for a kiss.

Here in the gentle flow of our family rituals, I'm home again.

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8 comments:

  1. Awww This reminds me of when I was in the hospital with Olive. There was nothing that felt as good as my own bed, under the same roof with all my babies.

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  2. Yes Sara! I was thinking of how you coped. Coming home to a house without a Mom was a bit scary, but J did a great job of getting it picked up before I came home. And my bed feels so good after sleeping in a hospital recliner all those nights!

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  3. So glad to hear everyone is home and doing well!! The rhythm of home really gets missed when it gets interrupted for whatever reason! Glad you all were able to get it back and enjoy it! :)

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  4. Praying it all stays good for you all now.

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  5. So glad that you and Peter are home!

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  6. Hi Lydia, I am so glad you guys are home now and Peter is recouping. I have been praying for him. When my 14yo son Daniel was a baby, He got RSV in the hospital in NICU. He was a preemie. A nurse came in with a cold and cared for some wee ones. All of them got sick. I had 3 little's at home at the time. DH let me stay with Daniel. Mom insisted I was being a bad mom by deserting the others and just "let the nurses do their work". I am so happy I stayed with my baby. The other's were well cared for by church members and DH. They even dropped in for visits with the children. Lydia YOU ARE SO BLESSED! :)
    Love and Blessings,
    Angie W.

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  7. Oh, I am drooling over your FIESTA bowls and their contents :o) Appears to be beef stew. YUM!!

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  8. Thank you Angie! I started asking for Fiesta ware for gifts a few years back. I love that it is nice enough for having friends over for dinner, yet its restaurant grade workhorse and resists breaking even with the most tough toddlers!

    I'm glad you and your husband were supported in your rough time by close friends! It is so hard to have a baby be sick!

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