The five-year-old wanted to race from the bus stop to our mailbox, and I said yes before remembering I had my work shoes on. We did a very slow race with a lot of shrieking, mostly from him! I was breathing harder than I expected when we got there, and my face stayed hot while I hunted for the house key. It actually felt nice to be warm from moving instead of from the car heater. Then I bent over to pick up his backpack and my lower back reminded me about yesterday's laundry. I stood at the counter drinking water while he explained that I lost because grown-ups don't use their arms right.

A mom from Primary texted to say her little girl had been singing our song in the bathtub. It made me so happy, and then I immediately wondered if I had given the quieter children enough attention on Sunday. Honestly, I wish I could receive one nice message without turning it into another thing to check. I sent her a heart and played the little voice recording again. Her daughter gets several words wrong and sings the wrong ones even louder, which is my favorite part. I wanted my husband to listen too, but the kids were arguing in the back seat and I saved it for later.

I'm trying to plan a Saturday that doesn't require all five of us to enjoy the same thing at the same time. The oldest wants to go somewhere, the youngest considers buying apples an outing, and I keep seeing pictures of these beautiful family activities that apparently involve matching jackets. We have jackets. They just don't match! I started a list of places and then looked at how much of the day would be driving. Maybe breakfast somewhere and an afternoon at home would count. I'm leaving the calendar square empty until we decide, which shouldn't feel as unfinished as it does.