Cabin Fever

Confession: Why is it so hard to take 3 kids under 5 anywhere? The winter is so hard for this, there is always at least one of us sick at all times through the winter, which makes it hard to hang out too much with friends, or else they won't be our friends very long if we keep infecting them. So we stay home so long, that we get to the point where we are climbing the walls trying to get out. So then we decide, it's time to go somewhere. But where? Let's go to the mall. Maybe we can catch something else there. Maybe the flu this time, yippeee! So we go, and we try to shop, which is next to impossible. Between my 4 year old daughter's endless questions, everything from why do they make clothes for little girls that aren't modest (good question), to why are those $220 boots too expensive, to my 2 year old son, who likes to run and hide between clothes racks, and then there's my 7 month old daughter, if she's captured by a 5-point stroller harness instead of freely crawling her way around our house, she's not happy. About 30 minutes into the trip, my husband and I are spent, and one of us usually says, "let's go, quick!" Then there's the mad dash to put coats and hoods back on, and trudge back out through the snow to get strapped into car seats in the car. There's usually at least one crying on the way home. . . . maybe you get the picture by now.

Truth: We've decided that the only reason to go out at this point is to help us appreciate being home. Isn't it awesome that our home is a place we long to be? It reminds me of those without homes, children without parents, and widows in nursing homes. I pray that our home has been, is, and always will be a place of comfort, safety, love and acceptance for my husband, myself and our kids.