Chicken with an identity crisis

      Day 5 - no sugar, but I really wanted it.  

(I did find that nuts help to satisfy that craving)

      This morning, we were awoken by a hen crowing outside our bedroom window.  A hen with an identity crisis.  A hen that believes it is a rooster!   Raptor (name given to the hen by the property care taker) reliably performs the task of alerting us that the sun is up, every morning at 6 am. She crows and crows and crows and crows and crows and crows and crows and crows -you get the idea...like the alarm on that annoying clock that makes you grind your teeth every time it beeps!  Except ours in one that will never shut off.  

     I'd understand if it was a rooster, but it is indeed an egg-laying hen, a feral one that has decided to make the under belly of the deck, on our rental, it's  home.  I had accepted the fact that this hen will continue to do this until the day we leave... but today she crossed the line!  After waking Nathan and I up, she preceded to waddle over to every other bedroom window in this rental and do the same thing!  Within 15 mins the whole household had been awaken...every child. Now she had evoked the wrath of a parent.  A parent who values sleep.  A parent who knows the awfulness of a child awaken prematurely.  The entire day becomes an unraveling mess of tantrums, moodiness, arguing, whining.  Aaahhh!  We didn't know this rental already had a tenant.

    So, having found ourselves with an extra hour of time, we headed out on brisk walk.  The hen followed us down the driveway.  Nathan chased it back with an umbrella, which he wished was a taser.  

     This event led me to ponder the many roles I have in my life.  Mother, wife, student, child, daughter-in-law, sister, aunt, friend, teacher...I can't even name them all.  So many demands that can sometimes feel like they are stretching me too much.  My most time sensitive and important role feeling like mother. Hoping to gain some insight from their replies, I asked my children:  What do you think my most important job is as your mother? 

    Rebekah (13 yrs)- "I don't know.  Where's your phone?  I need it."

     Alanna (10 yrs) - "Give me a few seconds to think about that...I'd either say help us when we need help, or cheer us up when we are sad."

     Summer (8 yrs)- "To keep me safe."

     Dallin (5 yrs) - "To clean up the house and get me cereal."

      Assesment:  well, other than discovering that one of my children is far too entitled, I only heard what I already knew.  Nurture.  It comes way more naturally to me now than it did 13 years ago.  The first time I held a baby in my arms, it was a feeling of relief and panic... relief that I was finally no longer pregnant...panic because I was suddenly under the realization that I had no idea what I was doing.  I still worry that I'm running out of time to get them prepared and equipted to function independently from mom and dad.  It definitely takes a village to raise a child.  Hopefully they will have all the right people placed into their life path to help them become the best person they can be - athlete, musician, scientist, humanitarian, CEO, firefighter, parent, sibling - whatever the identity they choose.

      Changing the world one diaper change at a time! (I think that's a real quote)  So relieved I'm done with diapers :)  I still remember the day I changed 11 diapers within 8 hours!  It was a low point for me- lots of tears.  But oh so worth it!