Today has been interesting. I've never liked taking the kids in to get shots, but today was absolutely 'another day in paradise'. There's nothing quite like being asked to hold your baby down, on the examination table at the doctor's office, and being obligated to look into his eyes while they stab him in the legs 3 or 4 times. . . Whatever element of trust that we had between us has definitely been breached. If my husband were here, he could do it. I'd be the one crumpled in the corner, sobbing.
Saturday night, I was doing okay. I thought I had things pretty much under control. My daughter was at a high school dance, the boy was at a friend's house, eating salmon and rice, of all things. . (wow) My other two relatively big kids were cutting up apples and playing happily together with their little brother and sister, something involving candy and a mild game of tag. The baby was content, and I was on top of the world. : ) Feelin' good, feelin' spry. : )
Then Sunday came, and all the battles that go with it . . dragging kids out of bed, what to wear, how to behave, diaper bag ready? etc. I ended up teaching a combined Primary (Sunday School) class, full of fidgety 4 year olds and 7 year olds, because my preschool-age son's regular teacher didn't show up. . . Boy oh boy. . . Monday night, I tried to make sense of the 9 children in my living room, complete with blanket 'tents', cracker crumbs, etc, and was inclined to agree with my sister-in-law, when she said that the 2 things she wanted most in the world were a back rub, and a magic wand. Turns out this is the last week of the first quarter at school, so everyone either needs to be early or stay late, all on different days of course. . .
Tuesday, my hysterical teenage daughter quit her job at Mickey D's, then immediately had misgivings, (dramatic occurrence #1). My 200 lb, 15 yr old son was last seen heading west, “kinda over by the library”, at dinnertime. His twin brother insisted that I make an elaborate werewolf costume for Halloween (hello, in 24 hours). Our 7th grader has developed a moody streak to rival that of Pakistan's, and to top it all off, his sister built a make-shift pirate ship “plank” in the back yard out of an old bed frame, 'walked it', toppled the whole thing, and squashed her little brother. Yes, this is livin'. Livin' on the edge. The edge of my sanity. : ) I sometimes imagine 'normal' people, at their lovely, relaxed office jobs, blissfully smiling at one another, as they walk in slow motion to the water cooler. . .
The thing ya have to understand about the whole 'Mama gig' is that it's a full time job. And I mean full time. It never stops. With a normal job, you can sign off, or clock out and go home after putting in your eight hours. . . If you've signed up for the 'Mommy Ride', plan on putting in a lot of late nights, changing hundreds of diapers, mending countless 'boo boos', dealing with all kinds of irrational drama, re-learning scary math you'd hoped never to encounter after high school, and again, almost never getting enough sleep. . . (I remember how my mother's eyes glazed over as she contemplated the day when she could burn the diaper pail in the back yard while doing a little dance around it.) Right now I feel a little brain fried and frazzled. My son just told me that he thinks it'd be pretty cool to burn all the leaves that we'd raked up. Have a huge bonfire in the front yard. Hilarious you say. : ) The thing is he's serious.
My ever-lovin' husband called and said he'd bring home burritos from Cafe' Rio. These were his exact words: “Well, your sanity's worth something. . . “
I've got to come up with 7, 8, 9 Halloween costumes. Oh yeah.
My boys' favorite game of late has been 'apple squash', a version of tennis where they try to hit fallen apples from our back yard . . over the house, with a baseball bat or. . . whatever. They inadvertently make a lot of apple sauce. Sigh. I hope they miss our new kitchen windows. . . : )
But seriously, I wouldn't have it any other way. This house would be awfully boring and empty without children, creating personalized havoc in one way or another. . . I've learned that you've gotta take the good with the bad. Some days are better than others. Afternoons are always crazy, and holidays are just downright nuts. But it's all part of the adventure, all part of the roller coaster ride that we call life. And it sure is more entertaining this way. : )
