The Isolation Phase

My facebook post many days may look something like this:

I love my kids!  They are so cute and I love watching them laugh together!

What it doesn’t say behind it is:

Man today was hard.  I swear they were battling to see who could have the most temper tantrums today or maybe throw the most at me (whether attitude or Hot Wheels)

But in that moment, we capture a memory and share it with the world! Look at my wonderful life!!  And a wonderful life it is….but it’s not easy.  (If you follow me on FaceBook, you actually will see some of the 2^nd type of posts…I’ve contemplated one with a for sale sign in front of them…? Haha)

Having a teen and a tot is a unique experience.  I often tell people “Yes, a decade apart is the way to go! You have a built in babysitter and it’s like having two singletons”  But—it presents a unique set of challenges as well.   I may list them all in another post, but I want to focus on one in particular today.

It can feel isolating!

With a Still Small Voice…Go

My husband’s family spends a week every other summer on Sun Valley Lake- a private lake in Grand Lake, CO.  An absolutely beautiful place!  It’s perfect for a family of 20ish ranging from 2-75!

Here, my back porch morning view is much bigger, much cooler (awesome and temperature) and much quieter.  No road noise, more birds, an occasional “neigh” in the background of the horses out to pasture down the road.

This year, 1^st morning I told Kelly, “I’m getting up at 5:30.  I’m watching the sunrise on the water & having some quiet time.  I hope Colt sleeps for you!” (He’s sleeping in our room in a crib).

I got up after a horribly restless night (my recent diet and the beans we had for dinner, plus 2 boys in with me…TMI?) through on my sweats, started the pot of coffee and was going to wait for it.  My plan had been:

1. Start coffee
2. Pee
3. Take coffee outside
4. Enjoy the heavenly aroma in the fresh mountain air!