Decompression

As I sit here I can feel the tension in my body decreasing and my mind is slowly relaxing and organizing. It's been a day of constant activity and a fair amount of frustrations. I've never liked getting up in the morning and so last night I was relishing in the fact that Leia had a two hour late start in the morning and so I wouldn't have to get up at 7am this morning. I awoke to "HIYAAA" coming from downstairs. The kids were "playing" karate (probably inspired by a tiresome cartoon called "Skunk-Fu"), and I could tell through my sleepy haze that it was going to end badly. Sure enough, Nathan received a karate chop to his mid-section and sleeping in went out the window.

Later on in my day, I decided to finally vacuum the basement - something on my "to do" list since Monday, and the vacuum cleaner decides to shut off for 20 minutes. Since I needed to go to Target anyway, for a lamp, I decided to take a quick look at vacuums that supposedly work better. They cost $399-$540. You can imagine how the thought of spending that much on a vacuum thrilled me and I ended up passing them by. So I picked up a lamp and exited the store. Nathan informed me half way to the car that he had left his brand new ball cap "in the lights". So I wearily retraced my steps and came up short. So much for the ball cap.

Once home I plugged in my new lamp. The cord became hot, there was a flash and one of my circuits tripped. Another trip to Target was instantly scheduled. YIPPEE!

Leia and Spencer duly returned from school at about 3.45 and proceeded to pick pick pick at each other culminating in a letter that Leia delivered to me accompanied by a VERY serious facial expression.


top secret
dear mom, spencer did something yesterday. spencer went in the girls BATHROOM!


For some strange reason, Leia became obsessed with this topic. Some of her friends had apparently told her that they had seen Spencer going into the girls bathroom at school. We asked him about it and he said that the boys toilet overflowed and he couldn't use it. Since I received no communication from school I have to conclude that this was a non issue. But Leia seemed EXTREMELY bothered by it. She was like a dog with a bone. No matter how many times we mentioned that it really didn't matter, she continued to talk about it. How he's broken the rules etc etc..... It was difficult at this point in the day to view this as humorous. It was bordering on maddening. I had to force myself to take a deep breath.

And something that I just can't get my head around is that I'm NEVER going to have a Christmas Tree that gets left alone. I foolishly believed that this year would be the year. Nathan is almost four for Pete's sake. But no. Even Leia and Spencer seem to be hypnotized by the pretty twinkly lights and the attractive little ornaments that are highly breakable. And Nathan also seems to want to keep squeezing himself between the tree and the wall??? And as I'm sitting here, I can see a sippy cup masquerading as a tree ornament.

Mothering can be quite the task sometimes. It was one of those days where I literally heaved a sigh of relief when the kids went to bed. I don't want to feel like that but there it is.

But there were a couple of AHHH moments today. Spencer asked at dinner "What's Grandpa Alan doing right now?" Leia replied that he is a missionary and Spencer then said "He's standing up straight". Sometimes I can't bear the thought that the kids won't remember Dad for much longer. But at least it hasn't happened yet. He's still very much in their minds and I am grateful for that. I hope I can keep it going for years to come through the scrapbooks I've created. I don't think I ever realized the significance of my record keeping. I viewed it as my favorite hobby but it's a lot more important to me now.

And when we went back to Target to get a new lamp we found the ball cap. Small victory but I'm going to take it with a smile.

Here is a picture of my wonderful and thoughtful son who is well and truly in the Christmas mood. It would be impossible for me to express just how much he can get underneath my skin. It would be equally impossible for me to express just how deeply I love him. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my children and that's why I get annoyed with myself for wishing for bedtime.