The Good Days.

There are patterns in my parenting. Peaks and valleys that have some sort of inexplicable rhythm to them, but are as sure as the sun will rise. Stretches of days on end - sometimes weeks - where things are just...tough. Out of sync. An upward climb. I am perpetually worn out and overwhelmed, and the kids seem unresponsive, whiny, unpleasant. Days where it's easy to fall into the trap of "I can't do this" and "I just may lose my mind."

Thank you, God, for the flip side.

Because there are the peaks too. The days, the weeks, when things just sort of beautifully fall into place. The house runs smoothly, the kids are learning and responding to instruction, they are happy and kind and imaginative, and I have energy enough to stay consistent and tend to the tasks at hand.

It begs the question: What makes a good day? Why the seemingly sudden switch? I've begun to take note:

Beautiful weather seems to help.  (I know, we're supposed to "make our own weather", but it's a whole lot easier when God just showers us with sunshine.)

Getting up early is almost always part of the equation. (Me, not the kids.)

Not going to the ER makes for a good day. (Although, truly, we've had some pretty decent days at the ER too. Especially when you know all-too-well it could always be worse.)

Kids playing together happily and kindly, making up all kinds of games and getting lost in their imaginary world...that just may be my favorite kind of day.

Fun with friends.

When one of them learns a new skill, or gains confidence in an old one. (Samuel just learned to write his name. Kyrie started crawling. The Olympics pale in comparison.)

Planning ahead, and providing just a little bit of structure to our day. That really seems to help all of us.

The days when I get to play with them a little bit extra, read to them even more than usual. When life is slow, and I can really just focus on being their mom without distraction.

Not over-scheduling.

Ignoring phone calls when I'm reading a story, doctoring a scraped knee, listening to my 7-year-old perform "Let it Go", and cracking eggs with my daughter.

Staying off the internet until the afternoon or evening. (Interesting, but it's really seemed to help our day run smoother when I avoid online stuff in the morning hours. Less time wasted? Sets a tone of productivity for the day?)

Sweet things out of their mouths. Funny things out of their mouths. (i.e. "Mom, you looked beautiful in that football jersey today." -Ezekiel, at bedtime on Super Bowl Sunday)

But, here's the thing: What REALLY makes a great day -- the kind of day when I fall into bed at night full-hearted and content and rejoicing in my day's work -- is not when everything goes just right. It's in how I respond when things go wrong. 

It's my tone of voice when asking my 3-year-old to stop whining, it's graciously handing my son a towel when milk runs down the legs of the table and pools on the floor...for the 3rd time that day. It's in the taking a deep breath before reminding little boys that, just like yesterday, we do not run in the house, or throw toys, or sneak in the pantry and drink syrup (a-hem, Elijah). It's calmly responding to tattle-taling, and patiently teaching siblings to love each other instead of the toy-of-the-day they are fighting over. It's moments of trust, and peace, and leaning into Jesus when a baby is sick and worry looms, when washing machines overflow and pipes back up and bills pile high, when buttons are pushed and anger builds and yet, somehow, I am able to stay the course.

It's seeing God at work in me.

Not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit. It's because of Jesus that we have life, and peace, and righteousness. And we know that God is conforming us into the image of His son. Which means we can change. We can change! God is at work in us, changing us. Making us more like Jesus, more like the mamas we want to be. He has given us His Spirit. We can lean into him, and He will change us.

And this, the knowledge that God is conforming me, is what gives me hope: Sunshine or rain, through joy and pain, there will be many more good days ahead.