sometimes that's how it goes

like tonight, when beth and i ended up eating inside and they all stayed outside. after having been stung by a wasp a couple of weeks ago, beth is now very afraid of them. who can blame her, i guess, right? so when one came fishing for some food the other night as we routinely sat out on the deck, quickly becoming just a pest that wouldn't go away, she requested we move inside. i obliged while the others stayed and ate outside. and sometimes, that's just how it goes.

i have this vision of what our ideal life is, always eating together around the table and having great conversation that invokes laughter and general bonding time. i've heard from many ladies who have been there and done that with the whole raising kids thing that dinner time/table time is one of the most important things a family can do as far as staying cohesive and helping nourish those dear family relationships. so i try. i try really hard because i grew up that way too and i've learned it's important to me. but usually it ends up that i'm having to remind the kids to take a bite every 5 seconds because they are too easily distracted by other things or talking about this or that (hyde seems to never stop talking) and in between all that hank and i struggle to have an adult conversation and my whole ideal just goes to pot. but hey, at least we're around the table together. i'll take what i can get.

and someday when this season of life has flown by and the kids are older and able to take bites on their own accord without my having to request that they eat faster than a 500 year old turtle, hopefully these seeds that are being planted now will blossom and we'll have that quality time. someday, i'll live in that dream of mine. in the meantime, i'll keep trying for it, knowing that sometimes it just doesn't always work out the way we envision it and take whatever parts of it i can get. and that's okay.