Life has a way of keeping you on your toes. Once and a while things go according to plan, but that is usually to get you off-guard for the next curve.

Looking back, I see so many times when navigation through the maze of life for me was more about me learning to stay afloat during those curves than about keeping my steering wheel pointing forward. Because life isn’t a lake, it’s a moving, flowing river. We all get our turn at the rapids, drop offs and sharp bends.

What’s most amazing to me now is to recognize that the river is always flowing. 15 years ago I couldn’t comprehend that a day would come when I wouldn’t be hungry for babies and more children. Suffice it to say, I’m finding that while I may still be at the pool, I’m now out and dried off with no desire to jump back in. And the amazing thing is that I am experiencing the truth of life and its seasons. They really do exist and much of what I experience I find is a natural flow of the journey relative to my age and experience.

This morning as I was reading a friend’s blog, I was reminded of those early thoughts of how many kids I would have. I always thought I’d have somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 kids. Life had other plans. I painfully waited many years for the privilege to be called mommy and then painfully watched my angel growing without a sibling. She prayed every night for two years for a baby brother or sister. A week before her 5th birthday we got a surprise call and two days later we brought her brother home from the hospital. To say I learned how to navigate a few quick curves is would be an understatement major! LOL I remembered watching two of my sister’s children when my daughter arrived. I went from childless to three kiddos under three instantly. She and her cousin grew up those first four years together and were bosom buddies. To this day they can’t wait for a vacation to see each other.

Now I have two kiddos and they both turn another year older in a matter of days. Last night at soccer practice a few of us moms were chatting and the discussion of having/wanting more came up and I was amazed to hear myself on the other side of the fence. I am so delighted to be gaining the autonomy of going out to do things like eat and take in a show again. Most especially I’m basking in the glory of not having to carry a diaper bag around. But it’s like I’ve transformed into something else because this was so NOT me several years ago. For lack of a better explanation, I’m blaming this on the concept of the river that is always flowing - like it or not I’m not staying in the same place or moving up stream, no I’m going with the flow.

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