Today I was "That Lady..."! You know the one. The one who can't control her wild children. The one who takes overly tired babies out and about at nap time. The one who makes a scene, makes a mess, makes noise. I was her. I will admit, this is not the first time I have been her, nor will it be the last, however, today I was her with an exclamation point.
It all started at the dentist appointment, that I thought I was 15 minutes late for, but I was actually 15 minutes early for. This early arrival was a pleasant surprise, a mini-miracle in my world. A moment to thank God for my forgetfulness and feel blessed. I spent the next 15 minutes relishing the feeling of being on time, which is a rare feeling for me to experience. All seemed well with the world. My two calm, well behaved children playing in the super cool kid friendly dental office complete with train traveling a track suspended from the ceiling, my insurance card tucked safely in my wallet when needed by the receptionist, and the cherry on top, I even brought a pen to fill out the forms. Super mom right...hahahaha.
I am glad I enjoyed my moment of super-mom-ness...because suddenly I went from super hero to super zero.
Although my Lily has the sweetest smile, she has terrible teeth. On the outside they look fine, but hiding between her molars are cavities...many, many cavities. She has had dental work done before, she knew what was coming and she was the picture of control until the teeth cleaning began. All of a sudden panic grips my child and the poor dental hygienist can't come near Lily without causing her to cry loudly for all the other children to hear. Needless to say she survived the teeth cleaning, but not without a final freak out when the dentist tried to put a smear of fluoride on her teeth. And the icing-on-the-cake of Joanna crying for a sucker and Lily screaming in terror over fluoride goo...a cavity...right between, you guessed it, the molars. The dentist also made sure to call it a "flossing cavity", as in, "You should be flossing your child's teeth lady." (Ok, so maybe he didn't mean that, but in my mom brain that is what I heard.)
After leaving the dentist, we continued to make our scene in stores around town. The quick stops, the unneeded stops, the "Oh while we are in town I would like to" stops...which finally ended with Jo-Jo screaming so loudly in a checkout line that the manager brought us a toy to try and keep her quiet. I am sure as I walked out the door..."That lady"...and ..."Some people"....were phrases uttered by a few of my fellow shoppers.
So there it is...my day in a nut shell...A morning of Patience Tested, wrapped up with a side of Humility. As we drove home from the big city both of my exhausted, frustrated angels feel asleep. I was listening to a local Christian radio station and a song came on that I desperately needed to hear...
"Where I belong" by Building 429. Tears filled my frustrated, tired, eyes and the song reminded me that this is not my home...All I need is Jesus and to him I am not...That Lady who failed to floss her child's teeth, That lady who couldn't calm the angry toddler in the check out line, That lady who is only on time when she forgets what time her appointment is. I am his daughter, I am loved no matter how much I fail to meet the mark, I am his. I am "That lady who is saved."
P.S.
Here is the song that melted my heart and reminded me that this world, with all its cavities, is not my home.
http://youtu.be/lOtsB4O1p3o