Merry Mayhem!
The month of May is always crazy around here, to say the least. I have so many issues with May. To me, May is like November and January on steroids. There is all this warp-speed build-up for the end of the school year with gifts and parties and necessary and unnecessary graduations, and I feel tired down in my bones from burning the candles at both ends and pretending to still care about things like reading logs and hoodies from the lost and found.
The children are all sick of each other and the daily grind, and we develop "short-timers disease" around here, doing the bare minimum. We file out of bed and down the stairs like zombies, methodically pouring bowls of cereal in our sleep like some sort of rewound monotony experienced by Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. No joy, no newness ( is that even a word?), Just children grabbing backpacks and rushing out the door with a grunt and a wave if I'm lucky.
My heart grows discontent in May, and my homeschooling alters ego runs out of grace for the structure of a school day. I want to don clogs and socks, move to the countryside, and buy a farm. Surely life would be simpler if I just pulled myself out of the rat race, right?
I blame this all on the month of May! I tend to think I need counseling in May (I kid you not!!!) I just told my husband last week that I need to go to counseling and was considering homeschooling. His response to me was, "Baby, you say that every May!" He is right, but a woman can only take so much!
May also kick off our "Birthday Bonanza!" 4 birthdays and an anniversary in a 3-week period, along with all the "graduations" and parties. I can only bake, decorate, and eat so many cupcakes for so many reasons without losing it.
May… (sigh) I have decided to call it Mayhem.
The Merry Month of Mayhem. Next year I will start exclaiming, "Merry Mayhem!" to the checker at Target and HEB. Perhaps send out a card wishing my fellow hard-working moms a Merry Mayhem. This picture of my boys shall be my greeting card. These could be little boys who tried to stay up to see Santa, but really it is two dog-tired bubbas who were supposed to be getting dressed for school and fell back asleep. And 2 minutes later, a fistfight broke out.
"DAAAAAVVVIIID!!!!! GET OFF OF ME!!! MOMMMMM!"
“Merry Mayhem, everybody!!"
Remind me to throw a party somewhere between Easter and Mother’s day for those suffering through this season. But the good news is, it is just that.. a season. Just when we can't take it anymore, the season changes and summer is upon us! For me, there is a "Happy New Year!" hopeful January feel to summer. I resolve to do things differently. This summer, we will "fill in the blank"! We're going to do math this summer, learn to swim, go to the library more, take more vacations, take fewer vacations, be organized, fly by the seat of our pants, and the list goes on and on. Summer brings stress of its own, but it is one that I handle better than May. It is the turning and changing of seasons that brings me hope. Hope for a fresh start, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and do-overs.
Summer will bring fun, sleeping in and lazy days, and boredom. It will look the way it looks and takes the shape it takes. We may do math, (Did I mention I have homeschooling alter ego?) Plus, the Sylvan commercial says that all the numbers and letters will fall out of their head after they swim! We will eat good food and celebrate more birthdays and visit with family and friends. The kids will get tan, and they will grow. Then we will get sick of each other, and the novelty of the pool with wear off. (I would love to say the weather will turn cool, but this is Austin, TX, for goodness sake).
This will all take place just in time for school to start. It is just the way the season goes. I can not stop Mayhem from happening, just like in November, January, and August, with the chaos, resolutions, and excitement. But I am an eternal optimist when it comes to God, and I know that in every season, I can lean into Him, experiencing my seasons of life by his grace and mercy and empowered by his love and joy.
My prayer is that in this season, instead of experiencing Mayhem…. May we trust in Him to help us finish strong as we daydream about summer plans that still seem so far away. Let Him fill our days with purpose and joy.
He made the seasons for us to enjoy, so let's all take a deep breath and raise our coffee mug to the Merry Month of Mayhem. Let's get through it! Let's more than get through it; let's conquer it! We have reached the finish line, ladies! Let's dig deep, finish strong, and say, "I see you summer, I'm coming for Ya! Move out of the way, May!" And soon, we will be floating in the pool somewhere. For a season at least!
Ecclesiastes 3:1
is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.