Those lucky Calgon moments

Yesterday was one of those days. My oldest boys fought and fought and fought. They called each other stupid. They told each other to shut up. They professed their dislike for each other over and over. They concocted new and unusual insults for one another. They disagreed on everything just to be disagreeable. And as the day wore on, the louder their arguments became. It was one of those days that reminded me of the old Calgon commercials... You know the ones, where the mom screams, "Calgon, take me away!!!" I was ready for a mommy break when my husband got home. I handed over the kids and headed upstairs for my nightly workout. Whew, it was a rotten kid day.

Tonight, after tucking the kids into bed, my husband and I collapsed on the sofa to watch a movie. We had two from Netflix that we hadn't had time to watch. I won the coin toss and got to watch my "chick's flick," as my husband calls anything remotely sentimental. The movie, Extraordinary Measures, was extremely emotional. It was based on the true story of the efforts of John and Aileen Crowley to find a cure for their two children who suffer from Pompe disease, a tragic genetic disorder that kills children usually before their 10th birthday.

In tears throughout the movie, I suddenly felt very stupid and guilty for yesterday's Calgon moment. The movie reminded me of something that I often take for granted: I am so blessed to have three healthy kids. Who cares if they occasionally fight or make messes? They are healthy. They are perfect. And I am blessed beyond words.

I know all mommies have our moments. Stresses mount and some days can really wear us down. But it seems that the really bad days always are followed by better days. And when life becomes crazy hectic from now on, I'll think about how very lucky I am to have such a crazy, messy, insanely loud house with children running and jumping and yelling back and forth.

In fact, I don't think I'd have it any other way.