Reality Check, Take One

Today was a very special day for our family.  Today Dustin and I had Miles and Liam dedicated at church in front of our family and friends.  I was very excited for this weekend.  We began by choosing this date carefully.  Not only was it their Papa's birthday, but it was also exactly one year ago on a Sunday that we were boarding a plane for Seoul to meet Miles for the first time.  I planned everything out to a "T".  I invited our friends to come along, and anticipated our family members from this area, as well as those that traveled from further away.  Dustin and I even agreed to do a reading in front of the church.  I spent a long time last Saturday carefully shopping for the boys' new outfits - both of which were pretty snazzy if I do say so myself.  When I got home I carefully hung them up in the closet thinking about how perfect they would both look come Sunday.  I pictured us all up in front of the congregation.  The perfect family with one angelic - perhaps sleeping? - baby and one charming little toddler who might even throw in some cute little phrase for the audience.  I researched Korean recipes for our noon meal with the family - preparing the Bulgogi the night before and carefully wrapping many mandoo dumplings by hand with my mom in anticipation of today. 

It was a perfect day....but not perfect in the way I pictured it.  Liam decided that 30 seconds before the actual service started was the perfect time to perform his first-ever "no one can ever calm me down, not even my mom" meltdown.  I had to sit outside of the sanctuary frantically trying everything to get him to calm down, go to sleep, anything.  I was sweating bullets.  Again, in a swift show of perfect timing Liam calmed down thirty seconds before I was supposed to read scripture in front of everyone.  I marched up the aisle with my now semi-calm baby and plunked him down on his dad's lap as I grabbed the scripture - slowed only by my scarf getting completely caught by Dustin's grasp.  By the time I made it to the microphone I was shaky, red, and sweating.  I don't even really remember reading the scripture, except that I asked the congregation to read two verses in unison with me, and for some reason they ended up reading all eight.  Not a big deal, right?  Now about the dedication....
Nothing up there happened exactly how I pictured it.  Between Miles working endlessly to pry himself out of Dustin's kung-fu grip, throwing his matchbox car down the stairs only to have the preacher climb down to get it,  collapsing on the floor in total agony, and then Liam starting to fuss towards the end, I was beginning to think that everything I had pictured seemed totally foolish.  At lunch the mandoo completely disintegrated in the boiling water, turning to a huge pile of dough and meat, and Liam continued on his fussy streak.  There was a moment today when I felt completely defeated.  And then I remembered.....
I remembered that our family loved us and our children so much that they traveled from so far away to meet us.  I remembered how the crowd had collectively "awwwwwww-ed" when Miles signed "Thank You" to our pastor for picking up his car.  I remembered that we were surrounded by family and friends that didn't care that my Korean Dumplings were a big soggy mess or that Liam's shoes wouldn't stay on.  I remembered that no one will remember me sweating through the entire dedication - willing it to go faster.  I remembered what the dedication was all about.  Today was nothing - it was important, but the more important stuff is yet to come.  Today we promised to do our best to raise Miles and Liam to know and love God.  (Although I don't actually remember what questions I answered - I had to look them up when I got home.)  We made a commitment to our boys that we would do the best we could. 
What doesn't matter: New clothes, mushy mandoo, a two year old standing still, and flawless scripture reading.
What does: Grandmas and Grandpas, Nanas and Papas, Aunts and Uncles, Friends, and the Commitment we made today. 

After the service - looking a little worse-for-wear, but still hanging in there.

The boys on our way home from lunch at Nana and Papa's- exhausted from putting their mom and dad through the wringer.


This mom had a much-needed reality check, and I have a feeling it was just one of many many more.