Every Now and Then

As those who stay at home know, most days are a frantic mess... the constant "two-steps-behind" feeling that just makes you want to crawl under a desk and chew your hair in frustration... when you look around at the end of the day and wonder what on earth you have to show for all your hard work. (please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like that most days!)

HOWEVER,

there are those rare days... when everything comes together so well... that you just want to shout for joy.

This has been one of those days for me.

We started off with a good discussion on the theological and cardinal virtues, along with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That prompted the kids to have great attitudes, so the rest of the homeschooling day went without a hitch.

My daughters both finished their rough drafts for their research reports without any help from me whatsoever, AND managed to type them all by themselves.

At lunchtime, Kathryn asked for alphabet pasta (pasta, ground beef, onions, celery, all cooked in beef broth. It's a fast and yummy lunch). Since I had the onions, celery, and beef out ANYWAY, I took a few extra minutes, chopped up the rest, and started supper for tonight (meatloaf). Since that went so fast, I figured I would just thaw out the sausage and finish the meatloaf. And, since the sausage was out ANYWAY, I put half of it in the meatloaf, quickly cooked the other half in the pan that was now empty (since the kids were eating lunch at the table), and whipped up breakfast casserole for tomorrow morning.

THREE meals in less than an hour!

Since we were all finished with homeschooling so early (thanks to great attitudes), I was able to get the little girls to help me whip up some benne wafers. The older girls, wanting to join in on the fun, decided to make a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies at the same time. SO, we were able to have tea time this afternoon with two different types of cookies... all the dishes are washed... the counters are clean... and the kids are happily playing by themselves.

I have managed to stay on top of laundry today.

All in all, I am STUNNED by all that has gone right today.

I must reiterate, this is NOT how it normally goes around here. This is a fluke... a once-in-a-blue-moon event that is meant to be savored, enjoyed, and remembered. Tomorrow the dishwasher may break, I may have several children come down with a stomach bug, and I will have forgotten even the most basic homemaking skills... but for today, just for TODAY, I will rejoice in the small successes.