Sanctuaries

The ugly truth is that I need a minute every once in a while. I find myself wanting a sanctuary. A special place where I can go and shut the door. Preferably it would have little waterfalls and T.J.’s chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches and meadows of daffodils waving in the breeze. Usually I settle for shutting the bathroom door and cramming a Little Debbie in my mouth while I sit on the edge of the tub before little ears can hear the wrapper crinkle. Yes, I acknowledge how desperate that sounds! And no, things aren’t going badly around here.

It’s just that sometimes things like THIS happen. And I have to remember to breathe. That she is three years old! That this is, in fact, more funny than anger-inspiring. And to reach for the camera before the washcloth.

Looking up what sanctuary really means I came across a few other synonyms that struck a cord of truth in me. Preserve: to keep alive. Adytum: the most sacred or reserved part of a place of worship. Moms need a sacred place; whatever that looks like. Wine with girlfriends. Dates with husbands. Solo walks on the boardwalk. A Bible study. A drive alone with the windows down and a good song up. Space to breathe. To keep alive the person who also happens to be a mom. To communicate with the adytum of your soul; to assess what’s going on in there.

Even if that space for clarity is a tiny out-of-date bathroom. It helps keep moments of, “Look, Mama! I’m purple!” all in perspective. Call it rest. Call it Holy Spirit. We can move on with a little more kindness and patience than before. We can do things like this:

Make homemade, non-toxic playdough!

Recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons baby oil (makes it smell slightly better) or veggie oil if you want it to be edible for a toddler to accidentally eat
2 tablespoons cream of tarter
liquid food coloring (we used neon b/c as I child of the 80′s, I know that everything is more fun in neon)

•  Mix ingredients together in saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir until ingredients are mixed and become the consistency of mashed potatoes.
• Put on wax paper or counter top and let cool to the touch.
• Knead dough until smooth.
• Add glitter for additional fun (or not if your little is just as likely to eat the playdough as create with it).
• We also added a splash of almond extract to make it smell better than regular playdough. Truthfully it didn’t make it smell that much better and we’ll be trying the Kool-Aid recipe next week to see if it’s better.

Make Valentine’s Day Garland

I’d like to thank Target for having amazing things in their $1 bins! An 8 pack of Valentine’s themed scrapbook paper in this instance. Selah Grace and I cut 2inch by 12inch strips. She glued two different strips together and folded them in half. I curved the tops inward and stapled to form a heart, then stapled the hearts together to form a chain. Happy $1 Valentine decoration you can do with a preschooler during toddler naptime!

And amen for naptime! Another sanctuary for mothers for sure!

I hope we both find space for a sanctuary tomorrow. One that brings life. That revives. That calms. And possibly even comes with chocolate.