routine

It is a monday morning.  The girls just got on the bus.  It is amazing how quickly we settle back into our routines.  Last week I was in West Virginia on a mission trip with Aislin and her class.  We spent the week with the most amazing people.  My work group was working on an addition for a church.  It will be a Fellowship Hall for a Nazarene Church.  We wired a few rooms, hung some drywall, moved some things, cleaned up, burned some trash, basically did whatever they told us to do.  It didn't seem like much, but they kept telling us how much we got done and how helpful it was to them.  It was an uplifting week.  The best part was seeing the 8th graders working together and having fun while doing  whatever we needed them to do.  It is somewhat of a let-down to be back to a normal routine now.  Sitting at a kitchen table going through email and checking blogs just doesn't seem so important.  I have always said that being a stay at home mom is one of the most important jobs there is and unfortunately it comes with the least amount of tangible recognition.  Perhaps that is why I am wrestling with so many emotions this morning.  It is not that there were tangible rewards last week- but there was a sense of purpose and accomplishment.  The people we worked with were so grateful and so kind.  I really felt good about being there and wanted to get to know them and grew to care about them in the short time we were there.  Then it is back to the same old routine here.  Children bickering, taking everything for granted, not even beginning to understand how amazingly blessed they are.  West Virginia was a breath of fresh air, and I pray that I don't let the routine overtake the blessing that was given to me last week.