Slowing back down

There is a trick that musicians use when practicing in order to get better at performing difficult pieces. We speed it up so that we’re playing it way faster than we’ll ever have to play it for an audience and we practice it at that speed for a while until we get used to it. Then we slow it back down to the right speed and suddenly it feels easy, our fingers move with grace across the keys and the music comes out smoothly, seemingly without effort. I wish I could do that with kids.

This past weekend the Boy went with the Genius Husband on a boys and dads only camping trip. He had a blast. I spent the weekend with my two girls and it seemed so easy to only have two again to deal with. Bed times went smoothly, so did breakfast and getting ready for church.

It wasn’t until last night when I was once again struggling to deal with juggling three short people and maneuvering them all into bed that I realized just how hard these last several months have been in dealing with three rather than two. At the same time I realize that just one child was difficult at one point and now feels refreshingly simple. I also realize that if I’d spent the last several months dealing with 4 or 5 children on a daily basis my three would seem like a rest right now also. I’m fascinated by how I’m able to adapt to things simply because it needs to be done, and I wish I could speed up real life in order to slow it down again later.

Since I can’t, I really hope that I can at least maintain this perspective and rise to meet the challenge of each day as I get it knowing that only as I live through it will I become strong enough to deal with it.