Hamburger Helper, Rain, and Perspective

It's almost the end of summer and although I see school coming and know that time is slipping, slipping away, I can't seem to step out of the fast lane.  Since next week is the last week of summer and I have no childcare during work hours this week or next, I am getting up earlier and earlier to get a jump on my tasks.
I am rolling out of bed sometime between 5 and 5:30 a.m. and immediately turning on the laptop to start working.  It's much easier for me to get work done when there is not a child literally sitting on my shoulders, and I have been productive, but I am constantly trying to remind myself that I do have limits and am not superhuman and that it's a good thing.
Yesterday I was productive, but by 10 a.m. I realized I wasn't going to finish what needed to be done and the kids needed to be doing something besides watching the Muppet movie.  I used to be vehemently opposed to television for children, but this summer have let up a little and I let my kids watch about an hour or so a day while I try to breathe or get something done.
We needed to do something fun and silly and fast, or there was a danger I would start taking myself too seriously.
Here's what we did:

We took our Hamburger Helper foam hand puppet to the zoo. We all brainstormed and struggled to find anything that was not awesome about taking Hamburger Helper to the zoo and we couldn't find anything.  "The thing about Hamburger Helper," Claire said thoughtfully.  "Is that he rocks."  Paul said, "Yeah, Hamburger Helper is totally awesome."  These are definitely my children.

Hamburger helper loves giraffes!

This was so cute we left Hamburger Helper out of it.  It's the new baby elephant, Belle.

Claire suggested we put Hamburger Helper on the elephant's trunk.

Hamburger Helper visiting ducks.

Hamburger Helper wearing a Burger King crown while waiting for the zoo train.

Awww!  Look!  No arms!  Hamburger Helper rode the zoo train.

Every time I start feeling sad and guilty that my human powers aren't super; that they are just normal, then I get some perspective.  I was feeling guilty about letting the kids watch a movie in the morning instead of forcing them to play.  Oh the humanity!  Television in the morning!  Obviously the kids would be scarred for life from that.  But then I saw a family at the zoo who put their child on a leash.  Not a cutesy kid leash like I had to use for Claire when Paul was an infant and she was a fast two year old at the zoo.  No, they used a retractable dog leash attached to the poor kid's pants.  The father sported a tattoo on his arm that said "100% rebel." He was trying, he really was, but I wanted to pull him over and give him some mercy.  I wanted to suggest that maybe he remove the leash while the kid was climbing in the rope playground but I couldn't.  I was intimidated and all I could do was pray for him to be able to calm down and let go just a little.  So I sat on my bench and said a prayer for him and within 30 seconds saw him relax.  He stopped yelling and did let go a bit.  He didn't take the leash off the kid (I'm afraid it was reinforced with duct tape.) but he stopped his angry rant.  I was so glad because I didn't think I could sit there another minute without crying for his child.

Then while Claire climbed across the rope tunnel close to the ceiling she shouted down to me, "You are the best Mommy ever! And I know other moms can hear this and are disappointed!"  That made my day.  She wasn't on a leash and apparently watching the Muppet Movie didn't scar her or make her a terrible person.  It was going to be okay.

We followed our trip to the zoo with a trip to Central Library downtown.  We went last week and all the librarians remembered us and not because we were disruptive.  They remembered us because we are sometimes awesome.

The library has a program where you can check out a stuffed animal cow called Maggie. You are supposed to take pictures of Maggie all over Fort Worth and put them on Social Media.  

Paul built Maggie a tower.

Maggie in Sundance Square.

Maggie at the Water Gardens.

Kids splashing and running in the Water Gardens.

We played at the Water Gardens until a torrential downpour arrived.  We were soaked and Claire was very upset that Maggie was wet, too.  We had to run back to the car in the rain that was coming down so hard that I had to take off my glasses to see.  We also passed a beautiful lady standing on the curb trying to stay dry.  A man approached her from the hotel across the street and then it hit me that she was a prostitute. What can I do but offer her a prayer at that point?  

So by the time we got home, I had about three inches of my body that were dry, and that was where my purse had hung.  I was cold, wet, and humbled.  How heart breaking to see a poor family using a dog leash on a kid and a beautiful lady selling her body in the same day.  As the rain covered my entire body, all my stress was washed away and I was filled with compassion and perspective instead.

Perspective

Today I am thankful for so much, but the concept that is framing life right now is perspective.

Yesterday our hot water heater broke.  Because our hot water heater broke, though, we went to a neighbor for hot baths and sat down and spent time and conversation with them.  Paul got to play on their piano and I realized that he might just have piano lessons in his future.  Claire got to read a story about Dora the Explorer to the elderly man.  Because our hot water heater broke, Adam and I consulted several friends and had conversations with some we haven't in a while.  Because our hot water heater is broken, tomorrow won't be a day of running around but staying at home and helping Adam replace the darn thing.

Last night the kids and I went to church to help serve dinner (and provide crazy entertainment) to homeless women spending the night at our church.  I was exhausted after a long day working, helping Claire with homework, and doing crisis management with Adam on the hot water heater, but I wanted to make sure we didn't miss this opportunity.  It was like having a family reunion.  "Look how much those kids have grown!  How are they doing in school?"  I didn't garner any new perspectives there other than one lady remembered that a year ago I referred to her as a piece of furniture and she still considers it a compliment.  (Furniture as in comfortable to be with and always around.  I'm a piece of furniture, too, for the record.)

Then we went and looked at Christmas lights on the church bus.  Rev. Nancy had already organized a field trip for the senior adults to do that, but I think we had more homeless ladies on the bus than seniors.  One of our guests was driving everyone nuts.  She was singing Christmas carols off key at the top of her lungs, rolling down the window and shouting Merry Christmas to strangers, and acting as a tour guide for every Christmas light we passed.  "Hey everyone, hey hey, look to your right!  Oooooh!"  "Hey now, look to your left, your left, your left!!!!!!"  I didn't mind it so much because I, too, get excited about Christmas lights, but by the end of our field trip, my enthusiasm was wearing thin.  Then the lady said, "I am so glad we did this.  I haven't been able to do this since I was a little kid."  Boom.  There was the perspective.  No wonder she was acting just like a little kid.  She also thanked me for bringing my children because they reminded her of her son, who died a few years ago.

So today I am thankful for perspective and the moments in life that give it to me.