It was right there on my dry erase calendar in green marker and I missed it.

Lewis – Reading Under the Stars

I know I  looked at the calendar during breakfast. I know I saw the words. And somehow I still missed it. So I sent my sweet little six-year-old to school without his pillow…without his book…and without the coolest and most important part of the equation…his flashlight.

What did I feel like when I noticed my oversight shortly before it was time to go pick him up from school? Worst mom ever. That’s what.

Uggghhh! I am a planner. I like to keep our finances organized. I like to keep our house organized. But when it comes to my kids schedules, it’s like the part of my brain that processes dates and times is missing.

Last week I took Carter to basketball practice on a night that he didn’t have basketball practice.

A couple weeks before that I took him to a 7:30 practice at 7:00.

I completely spaced off one of Lewis’ soccer games this fall.

And I arrived 20 minutes late to Lewis’ Halloween parade missing my little zombie’s debut.

(The list could go on, but I choose not to embarrass myself further.)

My delinquent brain seriously drives me crazy. My friends all tell me a smart phone will solve my problems, but I’m not so sure. It may just accentuate the fact that I am incapable of keeping track of my life. . .

But I have received a gift in all my absentmindedness. The gift of grace.

My kids always forgive me. Always.

And usually when I’m feeling like the antithesis of Mom of the Year, they just shrug off my errors and move on to the next thing.

That is just what happened with Lewis and the flashlight.

When he ran up to me after school, the first words out of my mouth were “I’m sorry I forgot about your flashlight today buddy.”

“That’s okay. Dallen and Blake shared. Dallen has a really cool green light. Did you bring a snack?”

And that was that. No complaints. No disappointment. Just a happy kindergartner who has some super-kind friends and is hungry for an afternoon snack.

Oh the things I learn from my boys when they don’t even know they are teaching me.

Thank you Lord for the picture of grace you give me through my children.  And thank you that you are continually extending grace to me in my inadequacies and failures, just like my kids. Most definitely undeserved but absolutely appreciated.  Amen.

Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.