Here's to the water diggers

A couple of weeks ago I went to visit Josh and Megan's family. Besides being fun, I think it was good for me to spend time with a lively, energetic family. I need that reality check once in a while. Kids look so cute from afar. Actually, they're darned cute upclose, too, but idealizing is not healthy.

You know how sometimes you think, I swear I just mopped the kitchen floor/vacuumed the car/organized the bills (fill in dreaded or repetitive task of your choice) only last week/last month/this morning. It's like trying to dig a hole in the water.

Well, if I feel like that in my quiet house, mothers must feel like they're digging in a rushing river.

And they're doing it on sleep deprivation. I sometimes forget that even after kids sleep through the night, they don't really. They get sick, or have bad dreams, or just get too hot. Then they call 9-1-1, or in other words cry until you come take care of them.

You know how there's opposition in all things? I think one of the main forces of that opposition is entropy, woven right into the fabric of the universe. Normally, of course, it's a passive force. Things just drift towards disorder. But as Troy says, kids are entropy incarnate. I'd say they're active agents of the disordering force. They rush the world towards disorder.

I guess moms (and dads) adjust to this demanding, revved up life. After all, as Mom says, generally kids come one at a time. And remember another scripture: out of small things (kids are small, and making dinner or changing diapers are small things), great things come to pass.

I knew all these things before, but I needed the reminder. So here's a big, encouraging shout-out to all the water diggers. I think you're doing a great work.

P.S. As a newsy side note, the visit was one day shorter than we had planned. A huge, late-winter storm blew through the D.C. area on Monday.

Uchenna was looking out for me, though, and paid attention to the weather reports. When it looked scary he prodded me to call the airline and see what the options were. They moved my ticket to the next day, under the "weather waiver," so it didn't cost extra to change it. Pretty neat, huh? Though, like I said, I did have to give up one day of visiting.

Another example of Uchenna looking out for me: he had a very welcoming dinner prepared when I got home. He knew I'd be tired after a day of flying and two hours of driving. It's good to be loved.