Spontaneity

Spontaneity does not happen much at our house.  First there are the 6 little ones to consider, then the teen and then my mom.  Lots of coordination has to occur for anything to happen in our house.  So much so that I shocked Larissa this weekend with a trip out to see The Nutcracker. 

I received a Facebook message from the kids dance teacher mentioning that Sunday at 3 was the last performance of The Nutcracker.  She and a group of her older students dance as the guards in the play.  I received this message at 2 pm.  The performance was in Columbia, about 45 minutes away.  Emma and Michelle were cleaning out their closet and on restriction so I told John I was going to go and I took Larissa and Sarah. Larissa loved seeing her teacher dance and it was a great experience for her.  I am glad that we went.

For most people this would not be a big deal, for me it was.  Sometimes I feel that we are in a rut.  There was a time when we would take little road trips.  There are some things I would love to take the kids to but can't.  First, we can't leave my mom home alone.  We can't just go do an all day trip and not have care coordinated for my mom.  We also can't take the foster kids out of state without prior approval.  There are many places in NC that I would love to visit that could easily be one or two day trips.

I do not regret taking care of my mom or doing foster care.  It is just that sometimes I would love to just go and do something without all the planning involved.  Sometimes the kids complain about our restrictions.  I tell them that there is a season for everything and that right now our season is taking care of mom and other kids.  There will come a day when both of those come to an end.  Sometimes I just have to remind myself of that.