ordinary days

So we’re on day 6 of the write31days challenge. And, while none of the last several days has been exceptional, today seems especially ordinary. (Is “especially ordinary” even a thing? I think that’s like “very unique,” which is decidedly NOT a thing—there aren’t gradients of uniqueness. A thing is unlike all others-unique-or it isn’t.) (I’m done now.)

At any rate, what I mean is that today, more than the last five, I seriously can’t find a crack to write in. All my writing is done “in the cracks”… I don’t have time set aside for it usually, so I just squeeze it in whenever I can. (The last several days have been aided by PBS Kids.) There’s always other, more pressing things to do, but, if I’m looking, I can usually find a crack- a little spot where I can at least sit down to start.

Today? Not so much. The laundry that I’ve neglected the last several days has outgrown the laundry baskets that I own. Nap time was obliterated for an appointment I needed to take Lilly to. I need to make dinner. Normal life needs to happen. Lots of discipline needs to happen. (Currently the little two are getting tiny half-naps and the big two are coloring within two feet of me, because I need to be able to see them at all times today. Some days are like that.) I’ve outlawed the word “mom” and required that they address me as “Your Highness” because I CANNOT HEAR THE “M” WORD ANY MORE TIMES. (It’s not working.)  There are pencil shavings all over the table because the 4-year-old decided that she wanted to use it to decorate for halloween because you get candy on halloween. (I have no idea. Whatever. It’s keeping her quiet. So there’s a crack I can write in.) 

I don’t say all this to complain about my life (It’s awesome in a mundane way that I really love) and I don’t say this to make excuses for shoddy writing (though, you know, you could take it into consideration.)

The point (if I have one) is this:

Today is exactly the right kind of day to look for and share typical, ordinary grace. Because my normal days require a lot of grace.

So here are a few of the the gifts that I see from here, in no particular order:

• the sunshine is glorious.
• the big girls are hanging out on the back porch for a minute, so I have a few seconds of quiet.
• the babies are sleeping.
• though the day has been overwhelming, my internal response is more sigh than YELL.
• real fruit popsicles count as legit healthy snacks.
• there isn’t yet snow on the ground.
• my husband built a fire, so our house is toasty warm.
• he’ll be home for dinner tonight, as will our dear friend Sarah.
• we’re only doing kindergarten, so strategic read-alouds can be the entire day’s work.
• Lilly may be getting help with her (super minor) feeding issues.

This is a really small selection, and as I read back over it, it’s pretty boring. But that is exactly the point. Daily grace isn’t necessarily flashy. It’s mundane and just enough for now.

And it’s beautiful.

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Can you take a 15-second break and look for the gifts around you? What do you see? I’d love to hear about it.

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This post is part of the write31days challenge… I’m trying to post every day in October. The rest of the posts can be found here.