Priorities for Pregnancy

This pregnancy has been completely different from my others in that ... da da da daaaaa!!!  I have morning sickness.  All day long.  Coffee is no longer my friend (insert huge groan here).  It's been fairly mild, but I have to eat and drink religiously to keep from feeling yucky.  To all of you that have had morning sickness, I am so sorry I've never been more sympathetic.  You have my deepest apologies.  I'll try to be a better friend in your next pregnancy.

I'm also getting reacquainted with my pregnancy friend exhaustion.  I know it's just a first trimester thing.  This too shall pass, but it requires me to ask for more help than I like.  Like any help.  This is why when my husband returned home from a long day of work, he couldn't find me.  I was asleep in bed with Caleb, napping away.  There was no dinner prepared because I could not stand the thought of smelling food or the idea of heating up the house by turning on the stove.  The cleaning chores weren't done because instead of having family clean-up time this morning, I threw the boys in the van so I could get a polar pop. (This was a need, not a want.)  After picking up said pop, the thought of unloading them from the van and reloading them a half hour later so we could go to Ben's therapy appointment was so overwhelming that we just drove the neighborhood, watched the construction on campus, and read books in the car until it was time to go.  I'm sure the neighbors think there's a stalker driving a minivan.  Nope, just me.

So there I was in a wrinkled mess last night when Teacher Man came home.  So what did he do?  He took care of Ben.  He helped me get both kiddos ready to go last night.  He didn't say anything about the dishes in the sink or the crumbs on the table.  And so far today, he's vacuumed the house, done the dishes, and helped me corral the kids so we could be ready for company tonight.  These are all things my non-pregnant self would proudly do all by herself, but maybe that's why God uses pregnancy (and our children) to humble us.  To remind us that we can do nothing in our own strength.  To help us see what really matters.  To highlight those people in our lives who truly love us enough to lay down their time and energy to serve us when we're wiped.

And though I make it a priority to have a clean home on a normal day, I think pregnancy is a great time to remember that life's about the people.  It's about the ones around you and the one growing inside of you.  The house will get messy again tomorrow.  No one will get cholera if the bathrooms aren't cleaned today.  No one will die of starvation if we have a cold supper.  But little hearts (and big ones) will bruise if I can't remember that the priority is people and not perfection because I have a choice.  I can lay down my expectations and adjust my priorities, or I can drag my family through 8 more months of "Life with Crabby Mom."  And I'm pretty sure I know which one they want me to choose.

So some new priorities:
1. Keep healthy foods that can be put together for a cold supper without strong smells.
2. Keep 7-up in the fridge.  Avoid a polar pop emergency.
3. Get lots of fresh air.
4. Eat every two hours.
5. Nurture souls.
6. When spare time and energy allows, dig out house.

With that said, I need to go refill my 7-up and get a snack.  Important stuff.