Seasons of life

I feel so thankful today for all of the roles I get to play in my life. Today, for the first time in probably 11 years, I had my first performance as a dancer (as part of the Tango with Colette performance group). I was gone for most of the day, and it was SO much fun...getting all dressed up, having a photo shoot, you know...especially as we prepare for our performance at the Emmys in a few weeks...so neat. I loved it.

When I came home, I was just in time to put Joshua to bed. After he was all tucked in with his teddy bears, I laid down on the floor next to his bed and held his hand as he fell asleep. His bears are always covering his face and all I could see was the cute outline of his dark, fuzzy hair, and feel his sweet, pudgy little hand twitching around my fingers as he fell into a deep sleep.

After Joshie was asleep, I came downstairs and snuggled Eli in my arms while he drank his bottle, and we listened to Seth read "Ramona the Pest" with Hannah on the couch next to us. Then we got those two bedded down (everyone by 6 p.m....fantastic!) and my wonderful husband gathered food for our dinner and sat with me to eat and watch a movie and just snuggle. The house is a little messy, and we're up a little late, but the range of experiences I had and roles I was able to fulfill today just amazes me.

Between church callings (EQP for Seth, RS teacher for me), marriage, three kids, and tango (working and dancing), I feel like I am super busy and exhausted most of the time. In the Church we always talk about "seasons" of our lives, which I've usually taken to mean that people should do only one thing at a time (be a mom, go to work, volunteer, do family history...those sorts of things), but I am constantly amazed -- and SO thankful -- that this "season" of my life includes more, and oddly enough these various roles seem necessary to keep each other balanced: dancing helps keep me sane by keeping my own personal identity while being a full-time mother, which also helps me to find joy in being a mother; at the same time, being a wife and mother helps keep me grounded and focused throughout my involvement in the Tango world...which is good cuz I think I'm really going to enjoy the excitement and flashiness of dancing on t.v. :)

In addition to this, I am SO SO SO incredibly blessed to have such a fantastic husband who is SO trusting and supportive of me in all of this. Throughout this busy-ness we have to work together more than we ever have in our married life and we are closer and more thoughtful of each other because of it. I just depend on him and love him so much. I couldn't do anything that I do without him, and of course I wouldn't even have the opportunities I do have without the Lord. And that gratitude is what drives me to support Seth in his calling and fulfill my own, even without a lot of "spare time", because I realize that all of these roles are gifts from the Lord and I don't want to take them for granted or let Him down. And so we come full circle! I'm so thankful for the Lord's hand in my life. I couldn't have planned it half as well myself.