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Today was a true test of being a mother of multiples. It was how tangled hair teaches patience. A tangled knotty nightmare all wrapped up into a patience testing situation.

Do you know what burdocks are? Oh, you are in for a treat! The nightmare of knots is enough to drive anyone mad!

However, we face every trial with patience and a strong reliance on a higher power.

SOOOOOO, this story began at a pee wee football practice.

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First practice of the season with FOUR children in tow.

Snacks: CHECK

Water: CHECK

Toys: CHECK

Patience: CHECK

You see, my little girls have reached an age that is so exhilarating and wonderful. They find joy in the smallest things and everyone is a friend.

I came to practice all prepared and ready to visit as did my girls. They found their friends and flowers!  Watching from distance they were enjoying their freedom and each other. The youngest was on the edge of the public area where the weeds and shrubbery were tall and overbearing. She was picking flowers. It was so cute.

Then she silently walked over to me and touched my hand. As I turned to see what she needed I GASPED!

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Burdocks (Spurs):

The entire TOP of her head was locked into the biggest burdock dreadlock ever.

If you aren’t familiar with burdocks they are this prickly ball of hooky things! That can be a living nightmare for your clothes, your animals and especially your hair! Just to give you an idea, the inventor of VELCRO used the burdocks bur design for the hook and loop fastening mechanism. So yeah, these things mean business when they hook into something hopping a ride to spread their seeds.

She was just picking flowers and didn’t realize the danger sitting right above her head. And sometimes we also live like that.

Living life while danger is lingering all around us. BUT why live with all the worrying about potential danger, risks and ‘what ifs’? Why allow the anxiety to control our lives?

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Patience:

 A recent song by Blanca turns our controlling, worrying and sometimes pessimistic mindset around with the simple question of “what if”.

What if we trusted the lord completely and gave it all to him? Really, what if?

People ask me all the time “how do I do it?” “How do you handle having four kids and stay sane?” Or they say things like you are a super mom. Literally, in the middle of the burdocks apocalypse, a mom said “look at this champ”.  She had yet to see the knot on the top of my little girl’s head.

Ok, so keeping it real. I am not a super mom nor have I got it all figured out.

Seriously, this household runs on Jesus and A WHOLE LOT OF COFFEE!

So what keeps me sane, calm, cool and collected through it all including this burdocks fiasco?

Jesus. I give it all to Him. (BTW, if you are looking for more mom inspiration that is God centered check out: Risen motherhood)

Things have changed over time including the number of people in our family to the depth of my faith.  My faith has deepened and transformed my motherhood. The anxiety, worry and unknown that once paralyzed me is slowly losing its grip and being replaced with peace.

Patience and burdocks. Just another reminder in this thing called life to calm down and just go with it.

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Knotty Head:

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 Now, if you want details of the burdocks episode. Wait no longer.

1. Her hair was initially in a ponytail. Therefore, the top hair along with the ponytail got completely knotted and matted with about 15 burdocks completely rolled up into one giant knot
2. We slowly pulled away the hair in small pieces exposing some of the burdock and breaking them into smaller pieces since they had dried out, thank goodness.
3. I slowly pulled the hair away from each “bur” piece by piece and breaking open the pods releasing seeds.
4. Eventually, I was able to take out the ponytail holder and expose the hair that was matted.
5. However, the breaking down of the burdocks was releasing the tiny prickly things that make you itch.
6. She started complaining of the itch and since we weren’t home I had to stop to gather all our things (meanwhile I am still wearing the baby).
7. Friends noticed and offered help. One just so happened to be a hairstylist and couldn’t resist getting all the burdocks out so that I wasn’t tempted to cut her hair super short. She patiently removed the rest of the burs.
8. Meanwhile my other little girl decides to investigate the area AND gets two burs in her hair. She literally look down then raised her head right up into the burdocks and they immediately latched.
9. Eventually all the burdocks were gone from both heads.
10. We rush home for a quick wash and more hair rescuing which included coconut oil, wide tooth brush to separate the knots followed with a very fine tooth brush to get the tiny knots.
11. And finally, hair washed and conditioned with detangler.

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