5 o'clock on Friday

So it's 5 o'clock on Friday Evening. If I were part of the "working world" I would be leaving the office and looking forward to the weekend, hopefully with some degree of satisfaction in a job well done. As is...well, my work isn't really the kind you can leave behind, but maybe this is a good time to review what I have accomplished today. Last night I cleaned the kitchen before I went to bed, so it was nice and clean when I got up. Unfortunately, it's looking more like a disaster zone at this point. I've washed at least three loads of laundry today, all folded and put away--but as I walk around the house I find a discarded shirt in the living room, someone's pants in the bathroom--and other bits and pieces that I have to decide whether to toss in the washer with the load that is half done or save for another day. And I just walked into the children's room to find that Luke has pulled about half of the hanging clothes off the bar and thrown them on the floor. I've bathed, dressed, and diapered kids all day it seems, but a naked 3-year old boy just walked into the room. We had planned to go to the library today, but I haven't been able to locate the key chain that has my library cards. My husband has on occasion been known to ask the "what did you do all day?" question, and to be honest most days at the end of the day there isn't much evidence of what I have done. But what did I do all day? I took the kids outside and watched them ride bikes, and helped Lily practice on her new larger bicycle (still with training wheels). I read Bible stories to the kids (and read a few chapters of my own). We planted broccoli seeds and watered our other plants. We watched caterpillers turning into pupae (a process I had never seen before). We did some math. We cleaned the kids' room and got out the tumbling mat so they could practice cartwheels (or something vaguely resembling cartwheels). We made and ate pancakes for breakfast, and had baked beans for lunch. I emptied and loaded the dishwasher. I wrestled with Luke and read him Thomas stories. Lily's new cello bow arrived so we had to get the cello and try it out. Lily fell on the patio and hurt her mouth, so I cleaned her up and comforted her. At the end of the day the kids are all alive and happy, so I figure I've done my job!