You Never Know . . .

One of the most memorable poems to me is Emily Dickenson's classic, "You never know how high you are until you're called to rise." Every now and again we get so swamped that we agree that I will bath and put the kids to bed while my wife goes shopping some evening. Those are usually the nights when I'm called to rise. I don't know how yet, but somehow I am less stressed on those nights. It might have something to do with a saying I used to throw at people in jest when they had dating troubles in college, "Expectations lead to disappointment. Keep your expectations low, and you'll always be pleasantly surprised." Although it was mostly a joke, in this case there is some truth to that. I think that on the nights my wife needs to go out and I am left to get the kids ready, I expect the worst. Ironically, that automatically raises my tolerance level. In addition, things usually turn out better than I expect, and I tend to enjoy my time. As usual, things were better than expected tonight. My wife hung around a little longer and played and wrestled with us for a while. Then she helped me get the kids ready for bed, and even read to the oldest kids while I laid the baby down. Once she left, the older kids were angelic. They snuggled up to me while I read to them and went to bed perfectly. After almost six years of marriage and almost 5 years of parenting, I don't know why I haven't figured this out yet--I should anticipate that every day will provide hidden challenges and try to rise to the occasion.