An hour just to get out the door......

A brief summary of one afternoon two weeks ago.....

I had an almost laughable afternoon.....the 4 hours I had between language class and dinner slipped away faster than I could blink.....with not much getting done....well actually, the only thing that got done was that we eventually made it to the park......eventually. Frustrated is the nicest word to describe what I was this afternoon......here's a glimpse at what got me to that point.....
I announced it was time to go to the park.
I went upstairs to quickly change into shorts.
Lily decided she wanted to wear a sundress instead of shorts/T-shirt, so she changed.
Kaitlyn had to change out of her princess dress-up dress into shorts/T-shirt, so she changed too.
We put sunscreen on all of us.
I filled up 3 water bottles with ice and water.
I grabbed 2 peaches for a snack on the go.
I forgot my hat and sunglasses upstairs.
The girls went to use the bathroom.
I went out back to get the Chariot ready.
The girls finally emerged and were about to hop in, when Kaitlyn needed to get something.
I ran upstairs to help her find this 'thing' she was looking for....and couldn't find it.
Lily was on her way into the house saying she wanted to color a picture for me. I said that now is not a good time.
Finally both girls were in the stroller, diaper bag packed, water bottles and a snack readily available.
The left tire needed some serious air so I called Phil to come and fix it.
We couldn't find the bike pump = Chariot out of commission.
I put the Chariot in the backyard.
The girls gathered their hats and drinks and headed for the van.
I ran inside to get the keys.
Girls hop in and get buckled up. I discover that Lily is not wearing any underwear.
I closed the van door quickly, very quickly.
I ran upstairs, got some undies and shorts and ran out to the van, unbuckled Lily, dressed her, buckled her back up and closed the door.....more slowly this time.
Cranked the Air Conditioning and floored it.....deep breaths....deep breaths.
Met up with some serious traffic trying to cross 4 lanes to get to the park.
Eventually decide to turn right, then turn around in a parking lot just down the road.
Met up with some more traffic trying to turn right out of the parking lot.
Very ineffective driving decision.
I floored it out of the parking lot, the van went 0-60km in 3 seconds.
We arrived at the park....finally.
I told the girls I needed to sit for a while by myself because I was feeling very frustrated.
I think they got it.
15 minutes later Kaitlyn ran over and I held my arms out for a hug.
She gave me a good one.
I asked her what she felt when mommy was being grumpy.
She looked at me sheepishly and said "I think you don't love me?"
My heart almost broke in 2.
I hugged her and told her I will always love her no matter what happens or what she has done or what I have done.
I asked her to forgive me for being grumpy and pouting when things didn't go as I planned.
I told her that even mommies have a hard time having a joyful heart in all situations (which we are really focusing on right now with both kids....so much for leading by example!) and that I needed to ask Jesus to forgive me and to help me have a joyful heart no matter what.
Kaitlyn nodded in approval, gave me another hug and ran off.
My soul felt light, the sun shone a bit brighter after that and turns out that we had a great time at the park.....once we got there.
Later that night, I heard Kaitlyn telling Lily that even mommies and daddies have trouble obeying Jesus, and that we need to ask Jesus to change our hearts.
Glad that she knows we are in need of God's grace, just like her.