Superheroes In My House: Someday...may come more quickly than I'd like...

Someday...my house will be clean. No messy fingerprints or works of crayon art on the walls, no crushed up Goldfish all over the carpet, no muddy footprints through the house, no laundry strewn about, still waiting to be put away in the "right" spot, no toys thrown everywhere seeming to fight for a place in the clutter, no unorganized kitchen counters filled with school papers, homework & half eaten lunches. No play dough particles on the floor or "washable markers" in the grout. No rocks, air soft gun bullets, or Star Wars guys found washed & still lingering in my dryer. No spills on the floors, no bugs in a cup, no forts & tents made out of all & every pillow & blanket from our bed & living room couch. No bathtub toys & rubber duckies left remaining in the bathtubs, no dirty clothes left on the floor, no toothpaste "finger painted" in the sinks, no toilet seats left up - again.

Someday...my yard will be well manicured & neat. No mass assortment of sports equipment & bikes left laying around, no worn paths from football playing, running, or hide & seek games in the flower beds. No dump trucks filled up with dirt from my garden, no play places or trampolines in the yard, no riding toys of every kind filling up places in the garage, no sand boxes on the patio leading trails & buckets of sand into the house. No sidewalk art filling up the driveway, no water balloon pieces & Popsicle sticks found littering the grass.

Someday...I'll get more sleep. No late nights finishing homework or projects that should have been done "yesterday," no long bedtime adventure story or "please just one more" Dr. Seuss kind of book, no extended bedtime routines involving more trips to the bathroom, another drink of water, & prayers with 3 sweet children being tucked into bed, along with 10 little baby dolls & 2 stuffed doggies also needing to "go night-night." No little ones waking up in the middle of the night with the stomach virus, a bad dream, loud thunderstorm, or simply needing to be rocked a few minutes more. No early risers in the house battling against my desire to "sleep in because it's Saturday."

Someday...life will not seem so chaotic. No interruptions while making dinner from busy, little toddlers who just want to "help," or crack the egg, no filled up family calendars begging for just a little more quiet time on the page, no long "to do" lists staring me in the face - still undone & transferred over yet again to the next day's "list of things to do," no moments of searching for a babysitter for that night out with Troy, no hours spent searching for the missing shoe. No running here & there to countless school events, birthday parties, play dates, music lessons, rehearsals, or sports practices & games.

Someday...I'll actually read that "One Minute Organizer" book I bought one day, with really good intentions.

Someday...I'll have more time on my hands (And maybe more money??? Maybe not.) More time to sit long & linger over scriptures with my Savior, more time to write & journal, more time for bible studies, more time to "sit & pray," rather than "pray & go." More time to volunteer in places other than schools & sport activities, more time ALONE in the bathroom to get ready for the day or to get my make-up on without a little princess insisting on her "powder," more time to run errands, shop at places other than Target, Walmart, or Costco, more time to busy myself with a wide assortment of arts, crafts & various projects that I've been intending to do yet putting off for years now. More time to read books with more than 25 pages, more time to talk on the phone again - when not in the car racing to get to the next destination of the day - more time for lunches with friends, spa days, or weekends away with my husband.

Someday...my car will shine...no scratches & dents from bikes & balls hitting it too frequently, no cheerios & McDonald's french fries lingering on the floorboard, no car seats fastened to almost every seat, no stroller in the back, no drifting smells from a bad milk spill, lingering cheese stick, or a Chik-fil-a nugget left too long. Someday...I may not even drive a minivan.

Someday...my refrigerator will be clean...it will beg to have little ABC magnets put back on the front, it will long to be opened a zillion trillion times a day by chubby hands just looking for another snack, it will ask for more art displays & pictures to be plastered across it's front & sides.

Someday...I might forget what channel Disney is on, or Noggin, or Nick Jr.

Someday...I may forget what it feels like to mix up endless cups of chocolate milk, or peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, mac & cheese, smiley face pancakes, or chocolate chip cookies.

Someday...we won't run out of milk - again - or out of pull-ups, or bread. My grocery list will look different. It will long to have baby wipes, lunchables, oreo cookies, & gogurts listed again. It will wonder why I'm not buying a ton of bananas, or that entire bag of apples, or stocking up on "mini" carrots, or the double sized multi grain cheerios, or family sized toilet paper & that extra big box of laundry detergent anymore.

Someday...it will be more quiet here. No constant chatter, questions, giggling, yelling, singing, playing, building, crashing, climbing, fighting, laughing, toddler melt downs, or childhood whining. No sounds of running through the house, jumping in the playroom, banging on the drums, racing down the stairs, clanging pots & pans, or tennis balls, baseballs, or basketballs being thrown against the house.

Someday...I'll get more "real" exercise, more than just pushing a loaded grocery cart with 2 hefty toddlers in the front, more than just chasing 3 kids around & up & down the stairs, more than attempting to retrieve a screaming child from the upper level tunnel of the McDonald's playplace because they're not "quite ready" to go home yet, more than throwing endless baseballs, footballs, & any vast assortment of balls around in the yard, more than sliding on slides or swinging on swings in the park, more than pushing strollers, or rollerblading, or running & holding onto a bike until that sweet little one will let me "let go." I'll get my nails done again. I'll go back to a "real" salon. My roots won't show anymore. I'll know what's "in style" for the season. My purse will match my shoes again. Most all of my wardrobe won't be only from Target. I might be able to actually READ that great magazine I brought along to pool, instead of constantly counting heads & teaching kiddos how to swim.

Sometimes...in quick, brief moments of certain, especially "more difficult" days...I think about "someday." And the sheer realization of all these wonderful things that I'll miss - someday - comes crashing down on me. It instantly changes my thinking. It makes me decide to CHERISH these moments of the here & now. It makes me desire to SOAK in the gift of the present day - remembering that it will pass all too quickly, never to come again.

Someday...will bring new gifts, new challenges, new adventures, a new phase of life. And, to be quite honest, reality tells me that "someday" may come more quickly than I'd like. Many friends have looked me square in the eye & said, "treasure it, the days may go by slowly, but the years go by way too fast."