GOTTA BRAG

I just returned home from a long day out. Thomas and I headed early this morning to UT Martin, where he took the ACT. We left before anyone else in the house was awake, jealous of their liberty to enjoy a Saturday sleep-in.

Being out of the house all day wears me out, and this was a particularly l-o-n-g day. While Thomas was testing, I enjoyed a cup of coffee in the student center and wrote letters, then drove to Union City to weigh in for the Biggest Loser contest (click here for most recent update), stopped by the library to pick up a few books, headed back to Martin where I bought groceries, then drove to campus to pick up the college sophomore and run a few errands with him. We made it back to the administration building just in time to meet a relieved Thomas. The three of us then headed over to the University Center for lunch before parting ways. (Two pleasant surprises on campus this morning - I got to see the lovely Laykon and the beautiful Janie B!)

Tom requested that we make a few stops on the way home - and given that he had just survived a rather hairy morning of testing, I spent the afternoon accommodating him. Cruising Rural King, THE coolest store on the planet, with Tom is...let's just say, an experience. I am not a shopper, not a browser. Not. At. All. Get in, get out quick - that's my motto. Not so, Thomas. He prefers to wander aisle after aisle, seeing all the merchandise...how else can a person know what's available? After walking down almost every aisle in Rural King, we headed to the Outlet Mall to look for overalls. Again, we had to check out nearly the entire warehouse. When we left the mall, my reluctant student driver agreed to get behind the wheel - so we took advantage of an opportunity to drive a round-a-bout way home. Managed to make what is normally a 15-minute trip into nearly 50 minutes of driving time! (That's a good thing, in case you're wondering.)

And we just now got home. I'm pooped. But, want to hear the fairy tale ending to this story? Saturday is normally my cleaning day. After a week of snow and slush and many, many feet, my floors were filthy. The bathrooms - yuck. That's what I was coming home to, exhausted after a day "out". What did I find when I got home? My girls had swept and mopped all the downstairs floors. That's a HUGE chore, as it involves cleaning up all the rooms first, then moving furniture, etc. They had also taken care of the laundry. My boys had cleaned the bathrooms, kept the fire going, picked up the upstairs, and taken care of the dogs. All hands helped unload and put away groceries, and now, minutes after pulling into the driveway, here I sit playing on the computer, drinking a glass of iced tea. Life is so good!

My kids do chores to help around the house every day. Everyone knows how to do laundry, clean bathrooms, and sweep floors. But usually, Saturday is a day off from regular chores for the kids, a day spent cleaning their own rooms or working outside helping Dad or Granddad on the farm. Saturday is MY day to do household chores. But today, on their own initiative, my kids graced me with a clean house and piles of folded laundry. When Scripture tells us that children are a blessing - it's not speaking of some philosophy, or of an attitude we should have toward them, but of a practical reality. Children really are a blessing - and I am so grateful to my "quiver" for blessing me today!