cat in the hat

I think I have mentioned that I read the "Cat in the Hat" to my kids quite often. In fact, Leah kind of "reads" it along with me now. This is my favorite part of the story. I can say it really really fast:

"Look at me
Look at me
Look at me now!
It is fun to have fun
But you have to know how!
I can hold up the cup
and the milk and the cake
I can hold up these books
and the fish on the rake
I can hold the toy ship
and a little toy man
and look! with my tail
I can hold a red fan
I can fan with my fan
as I hope on the ball
But that is not all!
Oh no, that is not all!"

I got to thinking that this is how I feel in my own life sometimes, so I made up a little rhyme:

"Look at me
Look at me
Look at me Now!
3 kids are so easy
You just have to know how!
I can shop with my toddlers
While carrying my baby in a sling
I buy only whole foods
and make delicious meals while we sing.
I read to them all at least an hour everyday
And with a snap of my fingers I can make them obey.
We go strawberry picking
and I make my own jam,
I'm just so wonderful,
I really really am.
And I can do
all of these things with a smile
And I can nurse my baby, all the while."

This is how I sometimes feel. I get to feeling a little cocky, a little sure of myself, a little smug. I forget that I need Jesus even when things are going really well. I get to thinking that I can do this alone. That I have motherhood down pat. But here is the next line in the cat in the Hat story:

"That is what the cat said,
The he fell on his head.
He came down with a bump
From up there on the ball
and Sally and I
We saw ALL the things fall!"

That sums it up in a nutshell. It really is the vicious cycle of sin in my life. I have a couple of really good days, where everything goes as planed, my kids are obedient and pleasant, I am able to accomplish my goals, and I feel very very confident. The only problem: that confidence is in myself, and not in my creator. And I am bound to fall.

I then have many many days where nothing goes right; I have a bad attitude, my kids act crazy, my house is a mess, and I realize once again that I need Jesus every single moment of my life. That I can't do this mom thing and this wife thing without him. I am slowly becoming more and more aware that I will never get to a place where I no longer need Christ. And that this is a good thing.