Multiple Channels

By Kelly

There are days when I wonder what it would be like to parent an only child.

Oddly enough, the thought isn't entertained on the days when my three children turn into heathen monkeys.

Rather, it lingers on days that are easy, when each child seems to shine brightly as their own, unique creation. Natalie, 8, might be drawing or imagining worlds for her tiny plastic animals. Connor, 5, is probably playing Legos, creating new forts to house his band of brothers to fight the bad guys. And Teyla, 1, a toddler now really, alternately chatters and shrieks as she follows me around the house, eager to help me unload the dishwasher or fold the towels as long as she can be next to "Mah-mee."

On days like that, I look around and wonder how I can take it all in. It's like trying to watch my three favorite TV programs simultaneously. I want to grab the cosmic pause button and put a couple on hold so I can really focus in on the action, the plot, the character development of just one.

I miss so much when all three are playing at the same time. And it tends to be noisy and chaotic and sometimes even tense when the channels overlap and compete.

But this is my life. We aren't a one channel household.

So I drink another cup of coffee, the better to keep up with the rampaging horde, and I open my heart wide and try to take in as much as I can.

I wish I didn't have to miss a minute. Because each show is the best thing I've ever seen.

Kelly also blogs at Love Well, which is like her own version of a DVR for her life.