On Clouds and Priorities

Life has been a little chaotic around here lately...a new baby coming...a nineteen-year-old leaving...and did I mention that recovering from a C-section at 41 is not the same thing as recovering from a C-section at 25, or even 31 for that matter? So, needless to say, the schedule and routines that I struggle so hard to achieve and maintain, that are so vital to my sanity, have pretty much become non-existent.

Having said that, I now find myself clawing my way back to some semblance of order - but how to prioritize must be my greatest weakness! Last week, however, the priority of house/yard work set itself. In the desert in mid-summer, the heat can be intolerable - even dangerous. But last week we were blessed with the onset of our monsoon season, and so had cool, cloudy, beautiful weather. Hang the housework! I'm pruning my roses before it gets hot again! I got it all done by Friday evening.  Not any too soon either...this morning it was already uncomfortably warm by eight o'clock and 100+ temperatures are threatening again.

What kind of beautiful clouds do we have in our lives that we ought to be taking advantage of? Our children? A friend? An opportunity to serve? How quickly the clouds pass and the sun beats down again.

I know how easy it is to get drawn into the swirling abyss that is called motherhood.  Teaching.  Training.  Dishes.  Laundry.  Cooking.  Cleaning.  Settling sibling disputes.  Soothing a fevered child.  And on.  And on.  But when I look back, I can see so clearly the beautiful clouds I missed. The opportunities I missed because my priorities were skewed in the moment.

Even as I gather these thoughts, my laundry pile is shrinking and the dust bunnies are being tamed - and a sweet voice calls my name - "Mom?"  The magazine-picture-perfect house really doesn't matter.  I have to go and hug someone right now.

Happy Gardening.