Mommy's Red Solo Cup

Most everyone is familiar with the phrase, "my cup runneth over." Well my cup is this cheap little red solo cup that has been used, and reused. It's been filled with family, and good friends, with basketball, and traveling. Just as it has been filled, it has been emptied with drama, injury, and cabin fever, and after all that it's been through, it has a tiny little hole.

I tend to run hot and cold with most things. Like the days, maybe weeks, where I pretend to be an adult who has it all together. During those brief hot streaks I am a mom on a mission, with lists, and organized meal plans and activities. I keep the calendar up to date, and the check book balanced daily, and stay routine with my chores. It's an exciting time really; filled with moments where I just want to pat my multitasking self on the back, and say, "Nice job!"And most importantly, red solo cup is brimming over.

Then some disastrous monstrosity strikes causing me to slip. Such disasters can be anything from one of us being sick, to having an appointment of some sort throw a monkey wrench into my routine for that day. Just like that one bite of chocolate ruins my diet for weeks, that one day off from my routine pushes me into a lazy, dreary streak, and turns my tap to a drip.

It makes sense I guess. I've always had a "go big or go home" mentality, so when I go after something I "go big," just as well as when I don't, I "go home." Every routine I've ever managed to work hard for; exercise, diet, household duties, and even my prayer and Bible time spent with God, all crumble in an instant if I falter even the tiniest bit.

I am a huge creature of habit, so without fail, I always feel much better, happier, and more content amidst my routines, and many of them go hand in hand. If I have one of them together, the rest fall into place. One of my biggest flubs is allowing myself to succumb to exhaustion. I am tired...a LOT, and when I let it take over, it screws up every single routine that I have, effecting one of my favorites: activities with the kids.

I go through spurts where I am a very active, energetic mommy. These spurts take place when I am at the top of my game. With all my ducks in a row, my I's dotted and my T's crossed, and red solo cup filled, I'll have laundry going downstairs, all dishes will be done, and the living room will have been vacuumed before the kids even have lunch. Then, between lunch and nap, we play, and boy, do we play hard. It's usually either basketball, or dancing, or sometimes a strange combination of both. I come from a family where I was allowed to play basketball in the kitchen, so nope...don't frown on sports in the house here! After we've played as hard as we can, we read, color, mold play dough, and practice writing our letters. Nap soon follows, and I retire to my chair a very happy and fulfilled mommy. But when I slip into exhaustion, sadly, I find myself sitting, and watching them play. They do play very well together, and sometimes it is fun just to observe, but I've never been happy warming the bench, and neither is red solo cup.

See, these habits, the good ones, the routines that I so easily fall out of; they fill my cup. I am happy when the house is clean, and happier still when it's all done before noon. I am happy when I exercise; happiest when it's done and out of the way before 7 am. I am happy when I spend time in God's Word; happiest when it begins my day. I am happy when I spend time with my kids; happiest when it is doing something they really love and enjoy.

When I fall into my ruts, allowing myself to be tired and get lazy, that hole in red solo cup slowly drains. It drains so slowly, that I don't even notice it at first. I sometimes don't notice it until it's completely empty. But...but when I allow these simple routines to take over my everyday life, infiltrating every possible moment, life pours into me like a waterfall! It makes that tiny little hole seem very insignificant while the happy just overflows and spews out in the form of a smiling, well-organized, fun-loving, mommy and wife.

I guess what I am saying is that maybe, just maybe, the common isn't so bad. Maybe it is the common that fills us up.

So I'm going to slap some duct tape on my seasoned, red solo cup, and kick that tap into high gear!