I got my mixing bowl back...

For those of you who know me well, one thing is I'm a great procrastinator. I'd rather play legos with my boys than do dishes, or watch 5 episodes of the office instead of folding laundry. Not something I'm proud of. So as far as adoption news goes, the good news is that our packet of paperwork has been sent to the foster agency (yeah!) but the bad news is that it should have only taken a couple of weeks to complete (Note: we got the paperwork in June). Considering the crazy summer and fall we've had, I think the timing has worked out perfectly. However, in order to prepare to add a member to our family and ADD to my responsibilities, I must now re prioritize my to-dos and make sure...REALLY make sure the things that take up time in my life are worth it. We need to be available for whatever foster child God places in our home and I don't want to be busy wasting my time. Got it?

So lets talk about family pets. We get them for our children. Yeah. And they're going to feed them and take care of them every day. Uh huh. So right now in the Johnson household lives Gus the girl cat, Mickey the tree frog, 30 crickets to feed to Mickey the tree frog (yes, they need a separate container, yes they need to also be fed) and thanks to the church carnival, 6 fish: Harry, Gary, Larry, Mary, Joseph and Airport.

I'm afraid to say this because I don't know if CPS checks blogs or not, but my own children are lucky to get a decent lunch on time some days, so you can imagine how often the fish water is clear enough for them to see outside the glass. And when Aunt Kathy comes over, she just gives me "the eyebrows" and says, "Darbi!" She then takes Blake and makes it a FUN project to clean out the fish bowl and feed them and talk to them and tell them about Jesus. (I added that last part to enrich the story).

Here's the thing...In my marital vows nor in discussing the building of a family did I ever promise to clean out three cages, a litterbox and a plethora of food and water dishes (you should SEE a crickets food dish. It's the cutest little thing...) and therefore when they are stinky and cloudy it should not be a reflection on who I am as a mother. Can I hear an amen?

So tonight I put the boys to bed early. Mike is at work so I could have some alone time. I went to check on the frog real quick and he doesn't look so hot. Gary and Airport have already passed away in the last week and I JUST bought 30 crickets. This frog was NOT going to die until he ate all $3 of those little guys. So, I set my freshly made peppermint coffee down, rolled up my sleeves and prepared to clean out frog filth. For an hour and a half I cleaned the frog cage and the cricket cage and all of the tiny parts. I put Mickey in his freshly cleaned home, fed the stinking crickets their yellow goup, and then looked at the fish bowl. Brown stinky water. I can't just leave them. As I walked closer, yep, there was another soldier down...or should I say up? I think it was Airport but I can't be certain. His tattoo was on the other side. And then a voice came from nowhere and said, "flush them all, Darbi. You are downsizing priorities. The fish are unappreciated and the boys will never notice. Besides, you've kept them in your really nice Pampered Chef mixing bowl for over a year now. Don't you want that back? You deserve it." In hindsight I'm pretty sure it was the voice of the devil, but it's too late. I flushed them all. And I got my mixing bowl back. I'm afraid for the morning, or next month when Tyler says, "Where are the fish?" What will I say. I'll tell them they went to see Jesus, but I just don't know if I'll let them know I helped take them there.

Now for the real question...Will I ever use my bowl again for making delicious meals for my family? Not a chance in heck. But I got it back...and I have one less job hanging over my head.