Experienced moms of many told me there would be a tipping point, a moment somewhere along the way where the tide would turn and I would start to feel like one of those Stretch Armstrong dolls from the 70s. That point was apparently this last fall, when the daily realities of parenting young adults in their early 20s and a healthy, active 2 year-old at the same time threatened to give me whiplash.
I’m not going to lie— this whole Straddle Parenting thing was a whole lot easier five years ago. And it’s not really the numbers. It’s the stages. It’s waiting for one college student to call from across the globe, and counseling another on which major feels like God’s call, and celebrating one about to graduate from high school, and getting papers ready for another to go to a week-long Civil Air Patrol Encampment this summer, and guiding another through OT exercises, and listening to the details of the newest Lego building plan, and snagging just a minute to sit and sketch horses, and being asked to watch a bow being shot, and reading Going on a Bear Hunt one more time.
Yes, it was exhausting just typing that out.
Life is full to the brim right now. It’s a good fullness, don’t get me wrong. But some moments leave me wondering if there will be much of my brain left over by the time Jude flies from the nest.
Take, for example, the other day. Jack needed a ride to to Bryan College to take the CLT. This was a day when Christopher and Mary Hannah were both teaching. Mathaus needed to travel to Bryan to meet up with the staff member overseeing his work study assignment. I have five other kids at home… all below the home alone threshold. You know what this means, right? Day trip!
We arrived at 9:15 in the morning— in plenty of time for Jack to sign in for his 10 a.m. test start time. We milled for a bit, and despite being the only family there with five elementary-aged kids in tow, we were not the loudest folks in the library. Not by a long shot. Win!
When Jack headed off to his testing room, we parted ways with Mathaus. A college campus really isn’t the place for entertaining a group of littles. Mathaus opted to stay on campus for the three hours of his brother’s test, exploring, and the rest of the kids and I excused ourselves for some recreation.
Yes, while my son took a college admission test, I chaperoned a trip to the park.
And then, because there are only so many hours one can spend sliding down slides, we did some carschooling.
If you don’t already know this, Bryan College has an amazing Homeschool Specialist in their Admissions Office. Pat also happens to be a Straddle Parenting pro in her own right, and knew exactly what our family needed to make it through this day trip with minimal snags.
I only felt slightly out of place ushering a 6’4″ teenager and a cranky almost-3 year-old through the food line at the same time. We had a great visit with Pat over lunch, then we hit the road for home.
Of course, I did stop for a required photo on the way out.
And yes, this happened on the way home.
Which was kind of nice, because it meant that I got to hear the details of the test from Jack, and what Mathaus had learned about the place that will be his home away from home in just a few months.
It was a good day. Needs were met, cups were filled, fun was had. Not every day of Straddle Parenting goes quite so smoothly but on this day, I was blessed to find the balance!