We (Benjamin and I) have been up since 3am!!!!! All the exclamation points are from the coffee!!!!!! Today I’m sharing a story I wrote for Help Club for Moms as we read the “Love Your Husband Challenge” reading plan on YouVersion.

The other day, while I strapped my extremely heavy toddler into a carrier on my chest, I had a weird Mom moment. As I shifted his weight and thought about the progression of carrying Benjamin from a newborn to now, I habitually took in a big whiff of his skin pressed against mine. I love the smell of his skin. That’s where this rabbit trail began...

Saturday was Mandela Day - a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact. As you can imagine for us here in South Africa, Mandela Day is a BIG DEAL! Nelson Mandela fought for social justice for 67 years, so we celebrate his birthday on July 18th each year by spending 67 minutes to serve others.

I was in over my head with the week, the responsibilities, and time - with not a lot of wiggle room and not a lot to give. So I took what I had -a couple of hours with Benjamin - and I called them holy. I set them aside to be God’s. I could have done the exact same thing and not made them a sabbath. But today, that stinky seal and that boy with wonder-filled eyes were a part of me realigning myself with the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And that makes it holy.

Two steps forward and one step back... Sometimes it seems like one step forward and four back... anybody with me?

I started online personal training with David in April… I haven’t given up. I feel myself getting stronger. I’m healthier and in better shape than I’ve ever been. But there’s a bully in my brain that tells me I’m not doing well enough, not pushing hard enough, and not ever going to make it further than where I am right now because of all those setbacks. Surely every other person in the world reaches goals without an off week or two, right? I should be breaking personal records every single week, right?

Hey wives or future wives! The Help Club for Moms is reading the Love Your Husband Challenge YouVersion Bible reading plan right now. Jump in with us! It’s only a 9-day plan, and we’re spreading it out over 3 weeks, so you’ve got plenty of time. Check out www.helpclubformoms.com for more info! I wanted to share something I wrote for Help Club with you. If you’re not a wife, pass it on to one! Love you guys!

The basic rules that apply to humans do not apply to Benjamin. Things like gravity, physics, awareness of pain and range of motion. Lately, our house sounds like this: “BENJAMIN, Shouldn’t you be afraid of SOMETHING!?!” - or - “BENJAMIN, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THE MOST DANGEROUS THINNNGGGGGGGSSSSS!?!”

I had so much fun this evening with the Help Club mamas! The wild winter storm outside downgraded the quality of the video, but the audio was just fine. It was so special to have a semblance of sisterhood in my frigid bedroom a billion miles away from my actual sister.

Happy Friday! I’m writing today’s story 11 hours earlier than I usually write just in case we don’t have electricity tonight. A big, wintry storm is expected to blow through the cape today and the nationwide electric company has already warned their systems may not be able to endure the weather. I don’t have anything deep or meaningful to share with you, but you just might find our Friday morning comical.

Yesterday there was a big event: I got my nails painted! These claws haven’t been tended to since wayyyyy before lockdown, and the Ladd boys all know that Mom is a better person when her nails are painted. (They prefer classic red.) While I walked Lifa to school yesterday, I told him, “You may wonder who that extremely fancy and beautiful woman is when you walk outside of school this afternoon. It’s me! It’s just your mom with painted nails!” So much tweenage judgment.

Photo by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash

I LOVE Cape Town! I love South Africa! I love living here with my family. And I haven’t seen my mom or sis in almost five years. Many people who have played intricate roles in shaping me have never met my children. With a global pandemic in full throttle, 4th of July snuck by me this year and social isolation is kicking homesickness into high gear.

I shared a parenting revelation at dinner last night. My husband’s response was, “I could have told you that.” It’s true, but we cannot all be as wise as Chris Ladd. This mere mortal needed to experience it to really get it.

We live here! We know those storms! We just went 24 hours without electricity last week because of them! A quick google search on this revealed that the actual Portuguese translation for the “Cape of Storms” could also be read “Cape of Torment”. The very same cape as the Cape of Good Hope. You could say it depends on the day, the wind, the weather. Or it could be the perspective and experience you bring. But you know what else... it could just be what you decide to call it.

Sometimes finding a way to win is being really strong, disciplined, and overcoming obstacles. And sometimes it’s abandoning all the plans and expectations you had and operating within your capacity for today. This is a weird time, and it’s ok to not be ok. Just don’t be “not ok” alone!

Maybe you’re a mom, and you know all about that infamous “mom guilt”. Or maybe you’re a dad, a doctor, a friend, a spouse a student, a CEO, a truck driver, a teacher, or just a person trying to maneuver life since Coronavirus. We all pick up things that aren’t ours to carry. A lot of things try to name us. We instinctively look for our “job” or purpose in life, and we want to be good at it. We want to do good and be known for good.

Currently, I’m listening to:

One neighbor’s perpetual weed-eater,

Another neighbor’s toddlers on bikes in front of our house,

My husband’s booming Tennessee accent on a phone meeting,

Benjamin announcing the end of nap time from his crib,

The video I just made for Help Club playing in the background,

And a kettle boiling for my 89th pot of coffee.

Hello from Day 5 of the SAME LOAD OF LAUNDRY. Three loads to be exact. I’m just going to tell you up front: The Ladds are not awesome at managing laundry on a clothes line. One of these days we will own a dryer, but, for now, we are clothes line people. It’s winter and rainy season in Cape Town, and the drought has officially ended. This completely changes our (already weak) laundry game.

Chris and I pray together every night before we go to sleep. A few nights ago, he started praying for our boys to have abounding peace and joy in their lives - freedom to live fully and abundantly without fear. This is a big and powerful prayer for a man who looks depression and anxiety in the eye daily and engages them in battle.

Image from Passion 2020 YouTube Channel

We’ve been living slow and steady Corona-speed for months. We settled into it and started to love it. But yesterday, life hit the pedal to the metal! Chris left at 6:30am for a 10-mile run. By the time he came home, I had Lifa in school and was simultaneously brewing coffee, setting up for a video, prepping dinner and getting Benjamin ready for a nap. We had computers set up on opposite ends of the house, and Chris has a Zoom staff meeting while I recorded a live teaching for Help Club for Moms. By the time I was done, Chris was already gone to the next meeting and then went straight to church….