Didn't Solomon say something about that?

Paul and I escaped reality for a week.

Well, not quite, we were doing four days of training for Gateway.  But being 11 hours away from all our other responsibilities?  It sure felt like we had escaped.

I feel like it was good in more ways than one.  I really enjoyed the training that we went through.  I really enjoyed eating out and having someone else make my bed for me.  I enjoyed the quietness of the evenings, being spent however you want.  Those of you who are houseparents as well...you know how big of a deal THAT one is!  And, although I dearly missed our kids....it was nice to have a break from that as well.

The first few days were the feeling of 'Ahhh...freedom!'  I didn't have to say phrases like:  "what did i just tell you?" or "stop pulling your sister's hair." or  "crayons are not for eating." or  "stop dumping milk on your head." 

and countless other phrases that we utter as parents that we never imagined we would ever say.

it was nice to not have to say those for a few days.

By about halfway through the week I was starting to feel re-energized.  Did you ever get that feeling after being away from your kids for a day or two?  That feeling that says "When I get back I am going to do such a better job as a mom!  I will do this and I won't do that and yada, yada, yada!" 

Help me out, surely someone else has felt this way?

Anyway, in one of those moments of grand expectations, I thought about how I so often REact, instead of act.

This was actually something that came up in our training, and something that I had been thinking about for the last month or so.  I love how God had me thinking about his before I even was presented with it in training.

Our training challenged us to be PROactive versus REactive.  When a crisis happens, or even, when one of my kids does something that I don't like, do I think before acting, or do I work on impulse?

So many of my regrets come from my REactions.  Many of my victories stem from thoughtful actions.  I am challenging myself to put this into practice with my own 3 little ones.  I often react in impatience, frustration, anger.  I would like to instead act with patience, long-suffering, and love.

I want my kids to remember me as their mom who, instead of griping in anger about what they did wrong, speaks to them with gentleness, helping them to see what they did wrong, and what they can do better.

That probably sounds all idealistic and a little bit like kum-by-ya, but I think putting it into practice will reap rewards.

At any rate, we are back to reality, and guaranteed, my kids will give me plenty of chances to practice.

Thank you, Jesus.