The Busiest Day of the Year

...but I don't have a single picture from it.  That's because, in all the hustle and bustle, I completely forgot to grab my camera and take it along.  Oh, well.  I'll have to try to use my words to capture a sense of what the day was like.

The day I'm referring to was yesterday, and it was one of those days that comes along every once in a while and somehow gets more crammed into it than the usual sort of day.

For Jeff, rather than his normal Saturday routine of go-to-work-and-come-home-and-go-out-on-a-relaxing-date, his day included going to work an hour and a half earlier than usual, leaving work in the middle of the day to attend a wedding of one of his co-workers, eating at the reception, returning to work, still managing to do 13 haircuts despite his time away from the shop, coming home, and fixing spaghetti with bear meat in the sauce for our dinner.  I believe he also shot his rifle a few times, although I wasn't at home for that particular activity.

For me, my day looked like this:  drop off David and Tobin and Shav at my parents' house, take Josiah to a violin festival at a nearby university, attend his masterclass and an Orff class, bring Josiah home, pick up David and Tobin and Shav at my parents' house, throw a quick-to-prepare lunch on the table for them, welcome our next-door neighbor girl to our home, give her instructions on caring for the boys the rest of the afternoon, grab a bag of tortilla chips and eat them for lunch in the car on the way back to the university with Josiah for the rest of his violin festival, attend a parent session about how to have effective practice times at home, walk up the hill to another building for Josiah's fiddle class, wonder how things were going at home with the boys and their babysitter, walk down the hill for Josiah's group class, walk back up the hill for the end-of-the-day play-in, come home with Josiah, sit down gratefully to a spaghetti dinner already prepared, do dishes and clean up the kitchen with my mom's help, have a heart-to-heart talk with Josiah about preparing for marriage (Premarital Counseling for Nine-Year-Olds was the topic, followed by sessions in Why It Doesn't Work to Say Marriage Is 50/50 and How Your Parents Can Help You Spot Warning Signs in a Prospective Spouse), put freshly-bathed-by-Jeff boys to bed, sit down on the couch for a relaxing few hours of reading.  Errr...scratch that last one.  Sit down on the couch, read a few pages, then let gravity force me into a lying-down position where I promptly fell asleep by about 9:00 PM.  Wake up at 11:00 PM, think about blogging and then decide not to, put some wood in the stove, and go upstairs to bed.

It was one of those days that was beyond me.  There was no way I could be everywhere and do everything, and I was so grateful for my parents' help in the morning and my neighbor's help in the afternoon and Jeff's help in the evening.  My dad even took David to his swimming lesson yesterday morning while my mom kept the younger two at their house.  I thought, "How many people does it take to care for these boys today and get them where they need to be?"  Apparently, a lot!  :)

It was a wonderful day, however; and I was so grateful for the time to focus on Josiah, riding alone with him in the car and chatting about everything from how salty the tortilla chips we were munching on were to how proud I am of him for the spiritual maturity I see developing in him.  It was pure joy to watch him throughout the day and listen to his playing; he's come a long way--both in musical ability and in confidence--in the few years he's been taking lessons.  And it was great fun for me to have time to talk with some of the other moms there, without having to be distracted by Shav or Tobin or even David and their various needs.

While I was sitting in the parent session, I heard a clicking sound behind me and wasn't sure what it was.  When I casually peered over my shoulder after a little while, I discovered a mom with a bag with a number of skeins of yarn in it, knitting faster than anyone else I've ever seen.  Now I understood the noise!  I got a chance to talk with her later; and after complimenting her on her speed and beautiful work, I discovered that she has an Etsy shop:  Little Bird Lucy.  I came home and checked it out and started drooling over the adorable infant hats and photo props for baby photographers.  Lisa, the owner, is one talented lady, that's for sure!

I'm so glad yesterday worked out for Josiah to participate in the festival and for David to still make it to his swimming lesson and for Tobin and Shav to have happy, special days with grandparents and a neighbor.  But as thankful as I am for all of that, I'm also very grateful that every day is not like yesterday!  To compensate for that busy pace, I'm going to have a lazy afternoon and lie down for a nap now.  Right after I read a page or two in that book I was trying to read on the couch last night...  ;-)