Gotta Keep 'Em Separated

First of all, for those of you who aren't pop culture junkies like me, I'll tell you that the title of this blog is a line from an old rock song by The Offspring (old being about 15 or so years ago--I think). At the beginning of the song, the lead singer says the line and then the guitars and drums hit hard. That was my morning today. Like a soft warning came the words, "gotta keep 'em separated," and then the proverbial crap hit the fan. Boom! But even in a decent-sized home with 3 floors, how do you keep 4 children away from each other?

For the sake of this blog and to prove my point, let's assign each of my children a name. Dallin can be "gasoline", Elijah "nitrous oxide" (NOS), Amelia "pure alcohol", and Felicity "rocket fuel" (these are just the most explosive substances I could think of; I always hated chemistry classes). When brought in contact with a spark, all 4 substances are totally flammable / combustible. All morning, if one my children came in close contact with another child, it was as if one was that flammable substance and the other the spark. Kaboom! Oh no, today my children could not simply be as oil and water and not mix. Nope. They had to burst into flames. By default, I became the firefighter. Funny that as a young girl I always wanted to marry a firefighter (it's that man in uniform fantasy), but never did I have the desire to be one.

Constantly putting out fires during our morning routine means that I am regularly running up and down 2 flights of stairs. That is neither an easy nor an enjoyable task for me right now!

Allow me to give you some examples of what I mean when I say sometimes I "gotta keep 'em separated", as much as they are drawn together. (Moth and the flame, anyone?). This morning Amelia wanted to give Dallin a hug. Really, what's wrong with that? Well, Dallin was having none of it. He pushed her away while Elijah grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her back. Mean! Here's another example: Felicity spent much of the morning pretending to play volleyball with a balloon Dallin had blown up for her a few days ago. Great! She was leaving me alone and having a great time while not hurting herself or anyone else. Enter Amelia and Elijah who decide it would be fun to play keep-away with Felicity's balloon. What do you think happened? She screamed like a banshee, she did. If you were 3 years old, what would you have done? One more example from this morning involved Amelia reading a story book and not letting Felicity look at it at the same time. Why couldn't Felicity have looked on while Amelia read? I know not. All I know is that another fire was set.

And let's not forget the frequent fires that begin because someone didn't get the placemat, bowl, spoon, cup, etc, they wanted to eat their meal with! Those are the most fun. Not! What's next? "She's breathing my air?" "He's giving me dirty looks?" I already get complaints like, "I wanted to say the dinner prayer!" and "I wanted to sit next to Mom!" Somebody give me a break!

Lord, give me patience and compassion, and give it to me now!

Richard and I try to teach our children that someday when they are all grown they will live away from each other and miss the time when they saw one another every day. We tell them that once they have families of their own, they will call one another "friend" instead of "brother" or "sister". Of course they don't believe us now, but I have no doubt that what we say will come true. One of Richard's best friends is his little--I mean younger--brother Lawrence. They talk and text often. Lawrence still cracks Richard up. In fact, he puts me in stitches each time I talk to him, too. As for me and my sisters, we don't talk as much as we could / should, but I miss them sick and wish they both didn't live so far away. Dena is in Arizona and Juli is in California. They both have children, too, and it makes me sad that my children don't know their cousins well.

Okay. I need to stop before I get weepy, something that comes much too easily for me these days. But before I go, I want my children to know just how much I love them--challenges, obstacles, tough times and all. Furthermore, I acknowledge and recognize that childhood is a time for learning and growth, trial and error, and that as their mom it is my job to lead and guide them, holding their hands and carrying them when necessary. It is a job I am up to the challenge for. I love you Dallin, Elijah, Amelia, Felicity and Aubrielle.

Love, Cara (Mommy)