Anyhow, lunch was enjoyed by all, thankfully. We got home in between rain showers and got busy getting the van cleaned out. Ya know, single socks, papers, trash, long forgotten sippy cups...anything that gets left in the van when every time we've arrived home in the last week, it's been to a rain shower. I even got to (finally) vacuum up crackers from our commute to and from CBS Tuesday. By today, they had been not only stepped on and made into cracker meal, they were also somewhat soggy by the week's rainy forecast. Thank you.
We got the whole job done in around 30 minutes and we booked it to our first birthday party at 2. It was misty and the playground equipment was wet, but that didn't stop the birthday party or the fun the kids had. We ended up with one injury from a slippery slide, and lots of grass, mud, and wet clothes. But hey- our van was clean, Bring it!
We booked it home with an hour and 10 minutes to spare before the next birthday party was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Enough time to crank out 5 showers, right? While the first 2 hopped in the shower together, I ran all the wet clothes to the washing machine and prepped it to begin after showers were over. After the first two got out, I put the last 3 in together. They got everything in with a little more assistance from me (getting shampoo and conditioner rinsed out completely). Then I needed to change because my outfit was damp and there's nothing more pet-peevish to me than being in wet clothing. We located new outfits for everyone (which is huge considering I'm pretty behind on laundry). Got hair done. Ran out the door as Louis left to get some grocery shopping done for us. Got to the party and I just sat. I ate, and sat. And sat. And talked. I couldn't move from my chair! Through this whole day, Alivia NEVER did find herself a nap. If we take a day trip, she has no problem falling asleep in the car, but today, she never did that.
So at the party, she kinda zoned out. Sitting next to me, she snacked on candy, party food, and her sister's Sierra Mist. Cuz like I said, I was talking. And not paying much attention to her sipping, until I'd catch a sneak sip or two. So then she agreed to let some of the older girls "help" her along and run around the party scene with them. Once I could get enough wind back, I got up and went into the gym and played ball with her. She had a huge plastic bat which she attempted to golf with. It was fun watching her cute little run and I just got caught up watching her toddle and dodge the older ones who were running and playing Dodgeball. Somehow, the 2-year-old never once got bumped or hit with the ball while she ran after her ball, apparently lost in her own little world among the kids playing their own games in the same shared space. As she ran, I secretly imagined an easy transition to bedtime. Afterall...she had no nap! And she's played hard at two birthday parties!
We left the party a little after 7pm. I'm walking on Cloud 9 as we get into the house. Clean van, clean kids, and no showers to get. It's 7:15 and I slip into the massage chair for a bit. The girls are all completely silent as they watch a little Disney Jr on TV and then they all get ready for bed. The older girls transition super well into bed and are all quiet. They are exhausted from a full day of fun. But not Alivia. She's pretty wired. Louis takes her to off to get her to sleep while I go out to the garage and work on my notebook some. Louis and I have an understanding. If he has her, I try not to make a peep, because if she hears my voice, then she gets worked up and cries for me....which can be a big setback if he's trying to get her to sleep. So after about 45 minutes or so I come in from the garage and hit the dryer on. I immediately hear her call out, "MOM". She can't see me, I know that for sure. But while I said nothing at all. she heard my voice. My voice in this moment was the dryer tumbling. Doing laundry. It's part of life. It's part of me.
Earlier in the day, I felt I had no voice, when the girls were running across the parking lot at Wendy's when I've told them over and over and over to look and why that is so crucial to their survival. When I reminded Alivia not to drink her sister's Sierra Mist and I kept catching her sipping. When I reminded the girls this morning about taking bowls to the sink and cleaning up their areas after breakfast (things I feel like I say over and over again). That's the voice I want them hearing. I'm speaking. It's important they listen!
But tonight, I used no words. When I quietly creeped into the laundry room (the room between the garage and the rest of the house), I simply tapped the "on" button. The sound of laundry sliding against the drum and the the dull squeak of the rotating barrel...the sound of laundry getting done...that was my voice. She heard me. She knew it was me.
Sometimes, I get discouraged because I want so badly to hear the voice of my Father. I don't hear Him. He outlines his expectations of me in The Word. He "says it over and over again", and I miss it. I don't listen. He calls me out. He repeats His instruction. He corrects me. Then as I make a request, a petition, I get impatient.
me:Why isn't it "yes", Lord?
Alivia: Why can't I have Sierra Mist, Mom?
She can't have it because it's not good for her at this stage in her life.
me: Why don't you answer me?
You don't listen.
It is the non-traditional forms of communication that often gets my attention. His voice comes in answered prayers to getting to the gas station when I'm burning fumes. It's the right song on the radio at the right time. It's the phone call and message shared when I needed to hear it. It's the unanswered prayers. It's in the provision. It's in the unexpected, gentle hug from your non-hugger kiddo. It's in the beautiful changing leaves in the rainy, foggy day. That was you, wasn't it? And the warm feeling arrives instantly. The comfort. He's here. I may not hear His actual voice but His ways and habits are everywhere. He's at work in my home and I don't even pay attention or give Him credit. Alivia knew me by the sound of my work, even when no audible word was said. My work was my voice. The Lord IS at work here in my home. I simply must listen to His work.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. -John 10:27
