A High Water Bill

This is what my family room looked like on Sunday morning.

 The picture doesn't really do the devastation justice. I realize now that I should have taken pictures of the kitchen and the stairs. The laundry room. The toy room. The master bedroom.

This is what you face when you don't want your kids sitting in front of screens the whole day.

There's that saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

I've decided, though that we don't want the other side of the fence. What we all really want is the strip in the middle.

I want the hugs and kisses and sweet faces and chubby cheeks and the thinking mommy walks on water. Forever. I want kids that are potty trained, that sleep through the night, that can fix their own food, get their own drink, and put on their own socks and shoes.

I want kids that are quiet and clean, that appear when I feel affectionate and disappear when I need to be alone.

But we're always stuck with the choice, aren't we? And it's never choosing between eating dirt and eating pizza. It's never easy. It's always choosing between the good and the good, the bad and the bad.

Sunday morning I chose to have kids that were engaged in life, playing with each other, using their imagination and learning life-lessons through play. And I lived in post-hurricane zone because of it.

I see the worry on your face, and there's no need.

My kids will have their screen time, or my name's not Debra. (My name's Debra).