Sara: A couple times in the past few weeks, I’ve been asked how I enjoy my “career” as a stay-at-home mom. I absolutely think Justin and I made the right decision for our family right now. However, sometimes my new “career” makes me think of the movie Groundhog Day. In this movie, weatherman Phil Connors is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting “rat” (as he calls it). When he wakes up the next day, he discovers it is Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. At first, Phil enjoys reliving the same day over and over again and uses it to his advantage; however, he later realizes he is doomed to see the same people do the same things each and every day.

Some days, I feel like Phil in Groundhog Day. Gus and I both operate the best on a routine, and so we do the same things each and every day in the same order. Some days, it seems like the most fluctuation in our day is what we eat for dinner!

And usually, when there is fluctuation in our routine, it’s not a good thing. For instance, Justin and I recently had to finish up our taxes due to the tardiness of us receiving all of our information. With less than a week until tax day, both Justin and I were already stressed. Of course, Gus was bouncing off the walls and wanted to play. Typically, I would have taken Gus outside to play for awhile so Justin could have had some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, the rainy weather made that impossible.

After awhile, I lost both my patience and my temper. It wasn’t Gus’s fault that our taxes are complicated, or that he wanted to play with Daddy after not seeing him all day. However, I was glad when it was bedtime because I knew a night of sleep would do wonders for my disposition and then we could “start over” the next day, just as Phil Connors starts over each day in the movie Groundhog Day.

However, that wasn’t in the cards. Gus was teething, so neither Justin nor I got much sleep after 1:30 am. The next morning, Gus woke up and was so happy and fun to play with, although I was still in a foul mood. The whole morning I was simply in a bad mood and struggling with my patience. Selfishly, I thought Gus “owed” it to me to give me a break by taking his nap on time. Then a friend unexpectedly sent me a small gift card which brightened my day. This enabled me to handle the rest of the morning’s catastrophes much more patiently.

Later that day, as I was struggling with my patience once again, I realized that perhaps living the “same day” over and over again should not be seen as a curse. Since I feel I struggle with the same things each and every day, I should see it as an opportunity to be more holy and patient than the previous day. Each day, I’ve got the opportunity to be just a bit better at being a mother to Gus and a wife to Justin.