Wednesday Night Sanity Check

Wednesday Night Sanity Check From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.

~Franklin P. Jones

I was in desperate need of a break. The "witching hour" was upon us once again, dinner was burning on the stove, and fights were breaking out between my two children. "Jamison, leave your brother alone! Zachary, no biting!" The whining and crying were relentless, no one napped that day, and I was at the end of my rope. My husband was in the city for yet another dinner meeting, and I was holding down the fort until way after bedtime. I was going to snap.

I called a friend who has four children the same ages as mine, and she was in a similar situation. Our husbands work together and were attending the same meeting that night. I could hear the screaming in the background, interrupted by Jen yelling, "Hannah, leave your sister ALONE!" and "No, Katie!" She kept dropping the phone to pick up the baby because he was crying. Then the pasta pot boiled over and she had to run. It seemed as if we were all suffering equally. Couldn't there be a way for us to break up the monotony, find safety in numbers, stop the fighting, and get everyone to actually eat the dinner we spent the time to prepare? Absolutely.

The first play date was at Jen's house the following Wednesday at 4:00 P.M. My daughter disappeared into the basement playroom with her twin girls and her younger daughter, and my son clung to me as did hers. We chatted about her week, described the various escapades of the kids, and crabbed about the crazy hours our husbands work. As we listened to the shrieks of glee from the girls downstairs, we both could feel ourselves unwinding from the insanity of the day. The occasional crash from the playroom would warrant a pop-in to make sure no one was bleeding, but the girls were so wrapped up in whatever dress-up fantasy they'd created that it didn't matter that a mom had invaded their space. The boys finally got down off of our laps and started exploring the toys on the first floor, and Jen and I sat just enjoying some adult company.

We ordered a pizza and salad, and ALL of the children actually ate their dinner. My kids aren't big salad fans, but if other kids are eating it, apparently it's cool. The entire large pizza was polished off, the salad was gone, and the rascals raced away for more romping. Jen and I cleaned up the plates together, wiped up the floor, and then sat back down to enjoy the pizza we'd ordered for ourselves. When we were done, we invited the gang back for some brownies (which were inhaled) and then they all danced to a music DVD until it was time to go. We left at 7:00 P.M., and my kids went right to bed when we got home. I felt rejuvenated and ready to face motherhood again. The e-mail from Jen the next morning confirmed her similar sentiments. We were on to something and it had to continue.

The following Wednesday play date was at my house, and it was exactly the same. The kids had a great time wearing themselves out, the moms enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet discussing the week, the kids chowed down their dinners, and all parties went home ready for bed. We've been holding the Wednesday Night Sanity Check for about five months now, and added another family with three kids to the mix. The more the merrier. Haylee has twin girls and a son, and a husband who works crazy hours, too, so she completely gets where Jen and I are coming from.

Watching nine kids from four years down to eight months interact and play together without the whining and fighting and bickering is a truly great thing, and to listen to the woes of the other moms and problem-solve together, or just listen to the funny stories of the week makes me sit back and realize that it's really not all that bad. Too many times I've felt completely overwhelmed by the constant demands of the house, the kids, and our family. Wednesday night gives me a chance to sit and really observe my children as little people. Those kids that are back-talking, complaining, whining, fighting and screaming at each other when we're at home, are actually polite, considerate, loving souls, and I rarely get a chance to view them like this. Any mom understands that you get the brunt of the abuse from your kids if you're home with them all the time, and often you don't get to appreciate the little things that you HAVE done right in raising them. This is one of those special times for us, and we all go home ready to face another week..

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