Happy Birthday Stephie T

It’s 10:00 at night, my body is limp on the couch and my eyes are heavy.  It’s in moments like this, the quiet late night hours, kids tucked away in bed, run down and exhausted from the day, I often find myself the most thankful for our Stephie T.  Sometimes I come home to a basket of our folded laundry on our bed.  Some days I get a text message with a picture of both kids closets, completely organized – clothes hung or folded, and in perfect, color coordinated order.  Or the hall closet completely reorganized, everything with a home, everything with a place, everything…in order.  Which is NOT how my life feels most of the time…so to have these special moments where I can just look at a closet and feel ‘order’ means more than she knows.

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The clock is blue in the kids room (this means its bedtime).  Everyone is piled on Merrick’s bed.  We read a story, say our prayer and then start with what we are thankful for.  Most nights we are thankful for all kinds of things: food, our blankies, a bed to sleep in.  But more often than not, this happens:

“Bubba, what are you thankful for?” Marley asks

“I’m thankful for my Stephie T”

“I’m thankful for my Stephie T TOO!” she barks back

“I am thankful for Stephie T too.” Says daddy

This is truly a weekly occurrence.  To know that not only are we (daddy and I) thankful for everything Stephie T does for our family…the kids almost always recognize their gratitude for one of the most important people in their lives.  It’s these everyday moments that this mommy of two headstrong toddlers, steps back and sees the tenderness in their hearts.  These moments make me smile and promise to commit these conversations to memory in the sweet childlike voices with simplicity and honesty…of true thankfulness.

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It’s 11AM and my email and phone have not stopped since I walked in the office.  Meetings and contracts and people needing something…yesterday.  It’s not even halfway through the day and I feel like giving in.  My phone beeps…a text message.  I swipe the screen and see two beautiful faces light up the screen…usually from the back seat of Stephie T’s car, buckled tight in car seats.  Hands spread open-wide right above their heads with a caption: Do I look like a moose to you? 

Or a swipe of the screen brings me to a funny saying or story from the day.  It’s as if she knows just the right moments to send me a {hug} over the airwaves.  I smile to myself knowing they are in such capable, loving hands (with the exception of the fact that she is taking a picture while driving down the road {grin}).

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A trip to the store to pick up teacher appreciation gifts when I just can’t fit it into my schedule, a visit to get haircuts, many, many, MANY doctors visits.  I can literally go on for days because it is a daily occurrence that our lives are touched by our Stephie T.  At this point in our lives, it’s just not in our cards for me to be home with the twins.  Sometimes, my heart aches to do so.  But other times, I know…deep in my heart, that this is exactly what God has intended for our lives in this moment.  I was once told, “I just don’t understand how you can allow someone else to raise your kids.” (yeah, absorb that for a moment).  And I can do so with my head held high because I know THIS is exactly the person that was put in our lives for a reason.  When I see these little people bucked into their carseats in the back of Stephie T’s car, or still in their jammies watching a movie at 10AM on a Wednesday, or feeding Gerald the giraffe at the zoo, or playing at the park…I think to myself how lucky they are…how fortunate we are…to not HAVE to have them in a daycare all day everyday.  That I have just enough (ok, sometimes TOO MUCH) time away from them so I can appreciate the time I do have with them.  That we have someone we trust, and love.

 

Happy birthday Stephie T.  And thank you for being such an amazing influencer, teacher, family member.  We all love you so much!