Last weekend I danced with Julianna. Usually I watch as she dances in the living room or through the kitchen or on a stage, but on Friday evening we danced together, dressed as 1920’s flapper girls, on the wooden floor of Kelly’s Saloon at Fort Edmonton Park. It was our friend Laura’s 1920’s-themed 22nd birthday party, and as our whole family loves Laura, our whole family was there. Three gangstas, one hula-hooping hobo boy, and two flapper girls. We were our own little party, actually. And I breathed in the feeling of enjoying “us”. It’s a new “us”. Aaron is almost 4. Yesterday I turned on CBC radio and he said, “this isn’t church music, mom.” Curious as to what he would reply I asked, “What kind of music do we sing at church?”…”the holy kind,” he answered. No longer a baby, a new season is upon us. No more forced risings to feed a hungry babe or commandeer a successful midnight bathroom run. Those years were accompanied by an almost indescribable fatigue. A wave of empathy washes over me when I read new moms’ Facebook posts…”I got 5 whole hours in a row!!!”. I know exactly how long it took that mom with 3 kids under 4 to get all of their snowsuits on to go grocery shopping. Someone needs to give her some chocolate. But lately I’m sensing an almost imperceptible shift from physical to emotional fatigue. I’ve figured out (mostly) how to deal with physical fatigue. The emotional layer makes me feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “…I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto!” . And I don’t think I’m alone. Andrea expressed it perfectly the other day (I’m paraphrasing)…”you help them navigate though academic pressure and friendship issues, find their happy place in sports and music, teach them to be responsible, clean, caring humans, and in the midst of it all you realize you only have 10 years left and you just really want to get it right!” When the pressure to “get it right” overwhelms me, I remind myself that each one is fearfully and wonderfully made. By a God who loves them more fully and completely than I can imagine. And that, when given the opportunity to dress up and dance, I will.