On the 8th Day of Giving...

I haven't done a scrapbook yet for today's Gift of Giving because it hasn't happened yet. All day - and I mean, literally all day , I've been working on some stupid craft project for this family that moved into our neighborhood last month. I was going to make a plate of felt gingerbread men play food and put them on a baking tray and give it to the neighbor's children along with a cute Christmas apron and oven mitt and spatula from Dollar Tree. I thought the little kids would love it.

But the problem is... while working hours and hours on end cutting out felt and spending an hour and a half trying to thread embroidry floss through the wrong needle and all that nonsense, I was neglecting my own children.

Today has been horrible. I've wasted hours on a craft that didn't pan out. My children have been fighting all day long. Noah has been neglected. And for what? So that I can look all good with my cute little craft and blog about it?

Why? What's the point? I'm learning that giving is GREAT when it's from the heart. But giving out of obligation - like saying that I'll blog about 12 straight days of it - that's a pain in the butt. It takes the fun out of giving.

I know there are blogs out there where the mom is the most crafty person in the world. You know, the ones who make slipper socks out of old wool sweaters that they felted themselves. And they seem to take the most beautiful photos ever. And they manage to blog 6 times a day while taking care of countless children. And their house is always spotless and they manage to make gourmet organic foods on a budget of $35 a month. And their kids are perfect. And their kids are healthy. And they don't have to deal with issues like autism, and RAD, and anxiety. And somehow, they manage to homeschool their kids, too.

But I'm not like that.

And for some reason, it just boiled over today. It's OKAY that I'm not like that. It's OKAY that I burn my eggs and it is OKAY that I can't sew and it is OKAY that my photos are dark and blurry. I'm me. And I'm OKAY.

But what's not okay is ignoring my kids for the sake of making a good presentation. Maybe other moms can manage it all, but I can't.

And that's OKAY.

So, today, for the 8th Day of Giving, I'm putting down the felt and I'm going to give my kids
the gift of time.

I'm going to round them up and we're going to swing by Nonna & Papa's and we're going to see the Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie. It's spectacular and I know they'll love it. And maybe we'll even drive through McDonald's. And maybe we'll turn the radio up really loud and sing off-key. And maybe, just maybe, we'll create a memory that no scrapbook page can ever match.

And that will be OKAY with me.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new Day of Giving (it's an easy one tomorrow). I'm not going to give up because we're almost through... but it does give new meaning to charity begins at home.