Life... What an Adventure

A friend of mine posted something on her blog today that got me thinking.  A lot....  I don't think that was her intention, but as we are in similar boats as far as how quickly we jumped into married and mommy life...  I couldn't stop dreaming of the day I am just a little bit older...  Alice and Norah will be older and not as dependent upon every single moment of my day, and while I will have a couple more kids by that point, I will have the baby part down a little better.  We will be able to go camping, to the zoo, swimming, and yes while I will probably be taking care of a baby or two, two or three kids will be able to enjoy these fun festivities.  I was dreaming of what they will be like, what kinds of things they will like.  Will Alice climb trees as much as she climbs furniture, will Norah be a busy body or mellow, will they like the same things or be complete opposites???

All this thinking got me caught up in a whirlwind.  I was at Wal-Mart and as I was leaving this clean-shaven, late-30's, well-dressed gentleman came up and asked me if he could earn a dollar by cleaning my window.  I only had a twenty on me.  A twenty that turned up in the washer, a twenty dollar bill that neither Spencer or I remembered to whom it belonged or what it was intended for.  Cash is a rarity in our house.  I told him that if he had change that would be fine, but I kept the knowledge of what amount I had to myself.  He simply said that he didn't have much, pulled out 2-3 dollars and said that he was just trying earn money for his kids.  I almost cried right in front of him.  He quickly said that he was sorry to have bothered me and not to worry about it.  I told him I would come back with change, but he said not to.  No sooner than I had finished putting Norah in the car had he made it to the other side of the parking lot.  This man was not messing around.  I drove around watching how earnestly he worked.  I was on my way home, a huge weight on my shoulders and the Spirit reminding me that this was the reason I found that $20, and with this image of him working for every dollar like it was a hundred.  I am almost always skeptical of the sincerity behind someone who asks for money, but this man was trying to work for it.

So I am driving home with this weight and I turn around and start heading back, fighting with my inner self...  questioning myself, I'm doing the right thing, right?  But I just kept going.  I drove through the parking lot and I couldn't find him, so I said a little prayer that if he was being sincere I would find him right then, and no sooner than I start coming up the next aisle and there he is!  So I park and wait for him to finish talking to these two ladies, and I see one of them give him more than a dollar and he gives her the rest back and now I am wondering....  So I get out and start talking to him...  I am not just going to hand over a twenty dollar bill.

Turns out that he just recently went through a divorce after a temple marriage, 17.5 yrs and 6 kids.  He had previously been laid off from a job he had had for a long time and never finished school, he was in the process of finishing school but then the divorce happened, and he kept thinking he would find a job.  When I showed him the 20 dollar bill he almost cried.  I told him I knew he didn't have the change so to just take it.  He offered to come to my house to clean all my windows, but I declined... I am not that crazy.  Talking to him calmed all my nerves and I knew he was who he said he was.  He gave some advice upon parting...  To never take a day for granted and to always honor my temple covenants and to alway stay close to my husband and make sure our marriage is strong and that we always communicate. One thing I didn't mention, was that he did clean all my car windows, he wouldn't take the money otherwise.

So back to my dreaming...  I decided that dreaming for more than a split second is a bit excessive.  It doesn't matter NOW what Alice and Norah, and however many other kids I will have, will be like...  (Don't get me wrong, I will still dream and wonder what they will be like, but I need to keep things in perspective.) So I got back into my car and looked at my babies and thought of my wonderful husband and decided to make the most of every moment... and although that only lasted until about 7:45 pm today (thank goodness Spencer got home just then!), I will try to make it to the 8 o'clock bedtime tomorrow, and every day after that, until I succeed at figuring out how to keep my cool ALL the time ...  I guess no matter what, though, I will always have to battle the every day adventure called life...