Morning Chaos

Though they should already be dressed they sit giggling and drawing bookmarks at the kitchen counter. Hubby has stayed later and we actually took a few minutes to chat so I’m just entering the fray in the kitchen. “What’s for breakfast?” they ask and I respond, “pancakes.” “I only like pancakes if they have chocolate chips or strawberry syrup.” “Are you making gluten-free?” comes from the other room and someone else asks, “Is there bacon?” “No the bacon was gone long ago, this is Pricesmart weekend so I’ll get more.”
It’s the usual chaos and I love it. We’re still adjusting to the empty spaces left by three older brothers who are off doing their own things these days. We’re thankful for Skype and Facebook and hope to get some kind of texting device eventually for our boy who communicates that way. The distance between the US and us doesn’t seem nearly as far as it did in the days before technology was so accessible.
“Mom, did you print my English paper?” “What day is it? Is it a day 2, I think I have library?” The morning continues and I mix the pancake batter and put whole strawberries in water and add sugar. Normal here looks different than my life did in the states-we don’t own a house or a even a car.(Of course “normal” for a family with eight kids would look different than most anywhere.) I shop weekly if I can so planning ahead is key. “Dates” are grocery shopping together on a Saturday morning and getting a coffee together or a papusa at the market. “I can’t find my uniform. I thought those were my pants but she says they’re hers, are mine in the wash Mom.” I flip another set of pancakes and head out to the laundry in search of a school uniform. Our laundry area is a separate room underneath the water tank. Might seem inconvenient, but we’re grateful for that gravity fed tank when there’s no electric because unlike other folks we can still flush. “Power’s out!” someone yells from the house and I grab the missing pants and head back inside. “There’s enough already done here, let’s sit down and eat. We’re working our way through the Jesus Storybook Bible on mornings when the chaos calms enough to read. The kids like how every story ends with foretelling of the One who will come. I read as they eat and we end with lines in our Gratitude Journal. I’m so thankful for all this chaos.