You're So Strong!

If "You've got your hands full!" is the most common thing we hear, "You're so strong!" or "I don't know how you do it!" are not very far behind. I take a step back and look at my family to see what they see.

The three year old? Certainly a three year old is a force to be reckoned with. You've never understood the term threenager until you've had one. Some days everything is awesome (does anyone else sing that phrase? Thanks Lego Movie!) and some days the world is ending because we used the wrong color plate or his favorite cartoon is on or the milk is too white. Yep. Those days take some inner reserve. 

The twins? Well they can be overwhelming. Who do you comfort first when they're both crying and only one parent is around? What about when they both need a bath? What if you're changing a diaper and the other one starts melting down?

A medically special needs child? Yeah this one can be tough too, though at this point we have everything about his care down to almost a science that it's a little less overwhelming. Except for times that he throws curve balls at us. Like the other night when we were at dinner and Mike was gravity feeding him and Nicholas was NOT happy and was having such a melt down that somehow his milk actually came out his nose. We aren't sure how that happened. His nissen is supposed to prevent that. He must have exerted some serious force to bypass that. 

So yeah. I guess we have three pretty overwhelming situations all squashed together into one family. But...it's our family. And really, what choice to we have BUT to do it? We can't stop caring for them. We can't not provide for their needs. So we just figure out ways that work for us and keep on keeping on. 

I laugh when I hear that. I appreciate the compliment it implies, but then I think about the families I used to think that about. Another family with a toddler and multiples (if only I could have seen the future!). A family with a toddler with cancer fighting for his life. Another family with more kids than I thought I wanted. And now I know. Yes, it takes great inner reserves of strength and patience but when it's your life you don't really notice yourself pulling up your bootstraps, you just DO IT. And I know that, faced with whatever difficulties lie ahead, any of my friends or family would do the very same thing. Just roll with the punches and figure out what to do next. It's what any good parent does.